Of course you can’t give away what you don’t have! That seems so obvious that you may be wondering why I would mention it. It’s because I’ve found that most people who don’t enjoy inner peace and success in their lives have failed to master this simple truth. So today we are going to examine our own inner resources.
Think of the people you know who give love in response to negative energy that’s directed their way. There aren’t very many people who respond lovingly in that situation. The ones who do are able to because they have love to give away. They know that it’s impossible to give away what they don’t have, and they’ve gone that extra mile to acquire what it is that they want to both attract and give away. If love and joy are what you want to give and receive, then remember that you can’t give away what you don’t have, but you can change your life by changing what’s inside if you’re willing to go that extra mile.
Consider the following concept of your inner reality. Your thoughts create your reality because your thoughts determine how you respond to situations in your daily life. Those responses are the energy you have inside of you to give away. If you feel anger, it’s because you have anger energy in your body. Like everything in our universe, your thoughts are a form of energy. Everything that you feel and experience is the result of what I call “attractor energies.” This means that you get back what you put out into the world. Thus, what you’ve attracted to you is what you have to give away to others.
Low energy attracts low energy. Some of the low energy thoughts are anger, hate, shame, guilt, and fear. Not only do they weaken you, but they attract more of the same! By changing your inner thoughts to the higher frequencies of love, harmony, kindness, peace, and joy, you’ll attract more of the same, and you’ll have those higher energies to give away. These higher and faster frequencies that empower you will automatically nullify and dissipate the lower energies in the same way that the presence of light makes darkness disappear.
By becoming more loving toward yourself, you will attract more of the higher, faster energies and begin to change what’s inside you. In your thoughts, cultivate an inner voice and attitude that’s 100 percent of the time for you. Imagine an aspect of yourself that only supports and loves you. You might schedule a certain time of the day when that’s the only thought that you allow yourself to pay attention to! Gradually this attitude will extend to other people even if you can only do it for a minute or two. You’ll begin to receive this energy back and ultimately be able to send thoughts of love and joy to everyone and everything in your world. Notice when your thoughts drift into the lower energy of ridicule or hate or guilt, and change the thought at that very moment, if at all possible. If you’re unable to change your thought, at least love yourself for what you did do—that is, for noticing.
Make a pact to remind yourself often of this secret of not being able to give away anything that you don’t have. Then work on your personal program of self-love, self-respect, and self-empowerment, and create a huge inventory of what you wish to give away.
One of the lessons I continue to learn and practice is that the universe responds with the same energy that we send out. If you attract a lot of people who wish to take advantage of you, you need to consider what you’re doing to attract victimizers into your life. If you run into anger a lot, explore the angry thoughts you have inside you. If your consciousness is a “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” energy, you’ll attract all manner of demanding energies into your life. You know if this is true by the number of deadlines not being met, demanding bosses or customers you encounter, and the feeling of being a victim. Send out “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” energy to the universe, and it will do the same in return.
If what you give is self-respect and self-love, the universe, via the attractor energy, will return the love and respect you’ve been radiating. It’s really so simple. You can’t give away what you don’t have.
If you wanted to give a dozen oranges to your neighbor as an expression of love, you obviously would need to be in possession of 12 oranges. If you intended to purchase a new automobile for your parents to show your gratitude to them for putting you through medical school, naturally you’d need to have the funds to do so. Likewise, you can’t give love away to others if you don’t have any for yourself. You can’t show respect for others if you lack self-respect. You can’t give happiness away if you feel unhappy. And of course, the reverse is true.
You can only give away what you do have, and all that you’re giving away each and every day are items from your own personal inventory. If you give away hatred, it’s because you’ve stored up hatred inside of you to give away. If you give away misery, it’s because you have a ready supply available from which to select and distribute.
This concept is simplified by a description of squeezing an orange. When you squeeze an orange, you’ll always get orange juice to come out. This is true regardless of who does the squeezing, what time of day you squeeze, what instrument you use to squeeze, or what circumstances surround the orange-squeezing. What comes out is what’s inside. The same logic applies to you.
When someone squeezes you, in some way puts pressure on you, or says something unflattering or critical; and out of you comes anger, hatred, bitterness, tension, depression, or anxiety, it’s because that is what’s inside. The irony is that you can’t give away what you don’t have because you’re always giving what you do have. If you want to move into the realm of purpose by giving and serving others, ask yourself, “What do I have inside?” and “Why have I chosen to store these kinds of energies in me to give to others?”