Yesterday morning I rushed
out the door in order to make it to work on time. I noticed there were leaves all over the patio. I dutifully picked up the broom in order to
sweep, but within about 2 ½ seconds I realized I didn’t have enough
time. So, I begrudgingly put the broom back in its home. I like to come home after work to a nice clean comfortable space, but the leaves were going to have to wait.
time. So, I begrudgingly put the broom back in its home. I like to come home after work to a nice clean comfortable space, but the leaves were going to have to wait.
Several hours passed
and I was dropped off at home after my shift was over and low and behold, the patio
had been swept—like magic! My landlord
was standing next to me at the time and I asked if he had been the mysterious
sweeper. Before he answered, it occurred
to me that he wasn’t my knight in sweeping armor. It was a Monday and that
meant that my housecleaners (who are also my friends) had been there earlier in
the day and it was them who lovingly made my home pretty for me.
Now that may not seem
like a stretch that housecleaners would clean up the house. However, I generally only have them clean the
bathroom every week. It’s hard on my
back to scrub in all the crazy positions you have to get into while cleaning a
bathroom, plus the elbow grease that is necessary due to the Arizona hard water that leaves a plethora of stains, makes it well worth it to me to have these lovely ladies come in and take
care of it for me. When I have a few
extra bucks, I have them do extra things around the house, but this week
could not be one of those weeks.
Furthermore, it just wasn't the outdoor patio that had been cleaned. When I walked
in the front door, I had discovered that my floors were a whole lot shinier than they had been earlier in the day. They had clearly been mopped, as well—not just
for the bathroom, but for the whole house.
Not to mention that the morning dishes had been washed. It frankly looked beautiful and I was thrilled, but I must admit that
while I was in clean home heaven, I also felt badly that they only earned the
rate for cleaning the bathroom.
Later in the afternoon I
saw one of them and she told me that her partner had indeed cleaned everything,
which turned a normal thirty minute job into an hour and half. I whipped out the bit of money I had in my
wallet, but it was not accepted. I was
told that it was a gift for all the nice things I do for them.
After she said this I again
felt uneasy that they hadn’t made what they were due. That was my fear-based ego talking in my
head. At the same time, my Spirit was inside
me saying, “During the course of your Spiritual
Awakening you have learned to give, but you still need a few lessons on
learning to receive.”
Our culture teaches us
that it is a bad thing to receive and when we do receive a whole lot of guilt
often accompanies the gift. When that
happens I am simply blocking abundance of all sorts from making its way to me—and
that is certainly not a welcome thought.
Well, I say we kick the
guilt out by the curbside. OK, maybe we
don’t have to be that mean. We don’t
have to disown our guilt, because if that is how we feel in a particular
moment, then that is where we are. What
we can do, is recognize the
guilt. See how it feels in our
body. Breathe into any space that feels
tense and then release it. We are then free
to receive with a genuinely grateful heart.
I thank Jana and
Michelle for helping me remember this lesson.
You two rock it out of the park!
Thank you for reading
and Namaste! (The Light in me recognizes the Light in you!)
