One life to GIVE

Part of what weighs heavily on my mind with my few minutes of talking is about having one life to GIVE.  Providing a tangible result, making an impact, giving to society.  Society is geared for us to take.  And those that give demand something in return…so when we give we liberate ourselves from the take-cycle and when others give willingly it’s a not a take-cycle because we flipped it into a giving-cycle.  The more time in life we spend taking  the less time we us to give.  So if we give and give then someone eventually has to take right?  Wrong. Taking can be a very different process than receiving.  So give and receive and give and give and let others receive.  But be careful about the mindset of give and take.  Compromise can be either give and take or it can be give and give or give and receive.  But if compromise is a give and take process it becomes more negative.  Stephen Covey used the terms win-win and win-lose as well as lose-lose and ultimately sacrifice.  Sacrifice is what I’m referring to as give-give and give-receive.  The only reason I’m not using Covey’s 7 habits of highly effective people terminology is because we only have one life to GIVE.  You’ve only got one shot as Eminem said in his amazing song “lose Yourself”.  I’ve also heard it stated “you only live once but if you live right once is enough” and one of my favorite quotes from the United States Revolution, in addition to Patrick Henry’s speech, in 1776 Patriot Nathan Hale or Captain William Hull are attributed with saying something along the lines of “my only regret is that I have but one life to give for my country” (apparently it’s controversial what was actually said or if he even said it all). 

My commitment to myself in my journey today is to GIVE in this life.  Another day I can work on my musings about time and whether we only have one life as well as talking about the 25th hour, but for now we only have ONE life to GIVE.  So give and give and give and receive and receive graciously and give some more.  (Btw remember to check out the journal on amazon.com called 5 minute musings to help with your own 5 minute journey).