My mom always told me that when my friends were coming over, it was really important that I share my toys. How could I expect people to share with me if I didn’t share with them?
The fine lesson of setting an example from mom, so true!
As I grew older I realized that sharing doesn’t always come naturally to everyone, it is certainly a learned phenomenon. One that our parents all likely tried to instil in us early on, but didn’t always succeed!
There are three things we should be willing to share without compromise with the people in our lives. If we do so, we will live a far more fulfilling and rewarding life.
The first one is love.
We set out on a course in our lives from the beginning that should include a great deal of love. Our parents love us unconditionally, right?
Not always.
A lot of people, for whatever reason, have children for the wrong reasons and start their relationship with their children on the wrong foot. Their unhappiness becomes the focal point of their child’s unhappiness.
Love is withheld. The child suffers.
No child should ever suffer from a lack of love. Love is our emotional fuel, without it, we remain deeply unfulfilled.
But let’s assume for now that we start life at least, with a good dose of love from mom and dad and the rest of our family (hopefully!).
From then on in, love is a crapshoot. We connect with people as we roll along, hopefully falling in love as we roll through a few early relationships.
Unfortunately, every break up causes us to withhold a little bit of ourselves the next time we connect, and after several failed relationships, we lose sight of the intention.
Our love is a reciprocal gift.
The first law of thermodynamics, also known as Law of Conservation of Energy, states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; energy can only be transferred or changed from one form to another.
Our love is a form of energy.
So it is within us to share it, to give it to someone else so that it can be converted by another person into something that feeds their soul.
Newton’s Third Law of Motion states, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” The simplified version of this phenomenon has been expressed as, “You cannot touch without being touched.”
What we give to someone else will be reciprocated in equal measure, but it is in this phenomenon that we lose trust. We hold back the depth of our love, protecting what we believe is our core energy, concerned that it will not be reciprocated, or worse, it may be taken advantage of by the other person.
This only results in a lesser expression of love on their part, a “hedging of bets” so to speak.
The result is an unfulfilled life.
We must love whole-heartedly, unconcerned by the “what if they don’t love me back?” Or “what if they take advantage of me?” questions. These questions only cause us to withhold further, and the cycle of less energy in, less energy back is perpetuated.
Share your love, for when you share it unconditionally, the love that you will feel will be positively overwhelming.
Share your knowledge.
Too many people learn how to do things or create success, but decide not to share it with the community at large. The assumption being that if they share, then they won’t stand out, and their success will somehow be diminished.
In reality, when you share your knowledge the return equation becomes exponential!
If you share knowledge, those around you share their knowledge or contribute to your further understanding. One of the most powerful ways of better understanding subject matter is to actually teach it and entertain questions afterwards. You gotta know it!
Share your knowledge and you will be a brighter mind.
Finally, share your wisdom.
There is nothing more valuable for a younger person than the perspective of an older more seasoned veteran.
Perspective is a hard thing to have if you haven’t experienced something, and though we should all experience many things in life, sometimes it is a good thing to have the advise of a wise person on which to base our decisions.
As we age, it is our duty to guide, to provide direction, and to save some others a little time, energy, and stress by simply opening our vault of experience.
When we share with others, we grow deeply.
When we share we experience a true sense of legacy, and we leave our imprint on the world. We leave the world a better place.
Originally published at medium.com