“You can’t give away what you don’t have.” This is one of the 10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace by Wayne Dyer. I know, I know. We are inundated with inspirational quotes on social media, it can begin to seem disingenuous or cliché, but the thing is, where do any of our ideas come from? Maybe a fraction of them are original, but really, most of us are inspired by a thought or idea from another. This particular one really clicked with me and opened my eyes to how we engage with others and that it begins within.

This kind of seems like a no brainer, doesn’t it? Like yeah I get it, if I want to donate a million dollars to the charity of my choice I actually have to HAVE a million dollars. Sure easy when you think of it like this, but now apply this same idea to the energies and behaviors we give away. When you examine these words and what they mean it is so life changing and can really allow a person to take ownership for the their own energy and their contribution to the world, negative or positive. When you can respond lovingly to a negative situation that’s because you have love on the inside to give away. When you respond negatively to that same situation take a deeper look. Whether it’s anger, frustration, resentment, judgment, etc. all of these low level energies can be given away because for some reason you have them stirring around inside of you. See what I mean? As much as you might think your responses are justified you are fighting fire with fire. You would never be able to give away negative energy if you didn’t have it on the inside. It might be a bitter realization but it’s a great one to make. Your outlook on life and therefore contribution to the world starts within.

If you are a parent (especially to small children) I KNOW a lot of your needs take a backseat. Your family requires an enormous amount of energy. But when you wake up every morning take a moment and think about what you want to give away to your family that day. For me it’s love, acceptance, understanding, happiness, peace, fun and so on. How would I expect to give these higher energies away to my loved ones if I didn’t already have them on the inside? No one wants to give away energy that’s impatient, exhausted or frustrated, but if you are not taking caring of your soul then you will never have the good stuff to give away. Here’s where one of the fundamental lessons to life comes in (in my opinion), it all starts with you. You have to be light, every day….that’s your purpose. You are of no use to those around you if you don’t work out your kinks. You might think you are just peachy but take a moment and examine how you treat people and situations throughout the day. And not just the people that are easy to love and get along with. If you are judgmental, jealous, resentful, frustrated or angry it has nothing to do with the other person. It’s you. Take a look inside and throw that ish out the window. I’m not perfect but when I’m experiencing these low level energies I can almost always self analyze and be real with myself. Might not always be what my Ego wants to hear, but it’s honest and serves my life’s purpose.

As a parent and the raisers of the next generation, let's allow ourselves to examine what it is that we eed to give ourselves to enable those higher level energies to flow so that we can effectively give them away. And the energy you give out will ALWAYS come back, so why not make it positive? Maybe you need alone time, physical activity, sexual activity, time with good friends, a good book, a good movie, a great meal, fun, relaxation, meditation….whatever! If it’s not serving the ultimate purpose of filling up your heart with loving energy DON’T DO IT. You must fill yourself up with love and light so you can serve those around you.