Increasing Your Capacity to Love and Give

December 27th, 2007, by Shelley Riutta

I hope you are having a Wonderful Holiday!  I had a great Christmas with my family.  My sisters and I had developed an agenda for Christmas Eve that included sledding!  We had so much fun–my favorite part was when we linked all of our inner tubes and went down the hill together–there was about 10 of us!!  If you live in a cold climate and have some snow–make sure you get outside and sled.

  I am so appreciative of my siblings—all of them have done personal growth work which has made a huge difference in our capacity to connect with each other.  Because of that when we get together–we have a lot of fun—we don’t have the barriers that get in the way of connection.  My brother (he is in the picture above with my sister, Erin and his daughter, Natalie), in particular, has done amazing work on himself over the years.  We were at dinner and he looked at me and said “I feel the best physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally than I ever have in my life.”  He has been very committed to his growth over the last few years–it has been his number one priority–and it really shows.  He is one of the most loving and giving people I know.

  He came over to my house on Christmas Eve morning to visit and asked if he could do something to help me get ready to go over to our parents house–he went and picked up some subs that I had ordered for the day.  When we were at the sledding hill there was a young boy there by himself and he was just longing for attention.  Barry (my brother) connected with him and when the little boy asked him to cheer him on when he went down the hill–Barry cheered him on.  Many, many times throughout the Holiday Barry was sharing love and giving to different family members.

It made me think of clients who first come to see me and are worried that if they really focus on themselves they are being selfish and this will hurt those around them.  Barry is a perfect example of what really happens.  When we love and take care of ourselves on a deep level then we are able to care for and love others in a deeper way too.  Our capacity to love and give expands.  Make your growth your number one priority—it will be the best gift you can give those you love!