Aspire Magazine: Inspiration for a Woman's Soul.(TM) Dec/Jan 2019 Aspire Magazine Final | Page 50

selfless mother. We may believe that the
selfless mother is the most giving, nurturing,
and loving mother around, and aspire to live
up to that standard. The problem is that the
selfless mother is a total illusion and feeds
our unrealistic expectations of giving. In fact,
most selfless mothers are overwhelmed,
exhausted, resentful, impatient, and not able
to focus on what their child really needs in a
situation, as they are perpetually putting out
fires living in crisis management mode.
things, which can be much harder than
giving… Accepting another person’s gift
is allowing him to express his feelings
for you.”
TO START THE PROCESS
OF LEARNING TO RECEIVE,
I INVITE YOU TO REFLECT
ON THE FOLLOWING
QUESTIONS:
1.  How can you begin to cultivate the
art of receiving in your life today?
I have a vision of a much more empowering
and realistic heroine – one that has
mastered the art of giving and receiving.
When we intentionally nurture ourselves
consistently we can easily give from a filled
up and abundant place and our joyful giving
can flow with ease and grace. Imagine what
amazing role models we can be in the world
when we give from a filled-up cup! But for
this to happen we must expand our ability
to receive.
As Alexander McCall Smith points out,
“Gracious acceptance is an art - an art
which most never bother to cultivate.
We think that we have to learn how to
give, but we forget about accepting
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To answer this question, you may need
to assess what areas of your life you are
consistently giving more than you are receiving.
You may identify certain relationships, roles,
responsibilities, jobs, etc. where you give more
than you receive. Developing more awareness
of where you give and where you receive in
your life in general can be incredibly helpful in
the process of cultivating the art of receiving
into your life. Increasing our self-awareness
and bringing mindfulness to our process of
giving and receiving is nurturing in and of
itself, as it highlights our value and worth. Give
yourself permission today to receive in some
new area of your life and begin filling up your
cup in nurturing and empowering ways.
2.  Where could you accept another
person’s gift or help?
If you find that you are often giving more
help than you are receiving, start accepting
help when it is offered. Receiving help will
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