“Miracles occur naturally as expressions of love…
[l]ike all expressions of love…the exchange reverses the physical laws.
They bring more love both to the giver and the receiver.”
~ A Course In Miracles
What are the examples that come to your mind when it could have been said that you were giving, but in fact you were receiving as well? Maybe it was the kind of dynamic where giving and receiving could no longer be distinguished.
I can think of numerous examples from my life. Basketball, for one, has been a great love of mine. While I gave basketball countless number of hours, the joy I received from being able to play this sport far exceeded any time that might have been considered an “investment”. If time spent playing and watching basketball had to be considered an “investment”, the return was always immediate and greater than the investment itself. The love I felt in playing this sport connected me to others who also loved basketball, and so the joy spread through us basketball lovers like wildfire.
Basketball has given me so much, which would take a lot of words to describe. More importantly, it does not make sense for me to consider whether it is I who gave to basketball or basketball who gave to me. On a higher level, no exchanges actually took place. I was basketball, and basketball was me. An act that is born out of love is a miracle. The act was the act of playing basketball. I simultaneously gave and received more love.
Illustration credits: Yan Nascimbene