The theme this month is love but not in the way we’re probably used to thinking about it.

Instead I’ve been contemplating lately about the idea of giving.  If everyone thought a little more about giving and focused less on receiving, don’t you think the world would be a better place and your relationships would be more fulfilling?

I sometimes observe people and situations around me where people fall out over the tiniest things, and relationships and bonds are damaged or even destroyed because all sides are fixated on being right, on wanting to win, on having the last say. There is so much pride and ego involved and love ends up being conditional. I have seen this happen among my own relations and it is such a terrible terrible shame, a very sad state of affairs.

Instead, what if we try and give from our hearts without harboring intentions of getting something in return? Love is not a bank account where we keep score of all the credits and debits and tally them all up at the end of the day. After a while, aren’t these tit-for-tat games so tiresome and difficult to keep track of?

Give because you genuinely want to, give because you know it will make the other person happy or lift their spirits.

By doing so, we create in ourselves a great capacity to be genuinely selfless, compassionate and caring. When we are in such a position of positivity, I think we’ll just automatically resonate all around goodness and loving kindness. And when that happens, people will naturally flock to us, precisely because the feelings we arouse in them are so joyous.  In other words, give love to receive love, because we are what we attract.

And it is surprisingly easy to give out love. All it requires is a little more thought and attention. I believe the smallest gesture can mean a lot to the other person in need. And even if we don’t get any thanks or recognition in return, it doesn’t matter, because the very act of giving raises our own spirits.

This is what I’ll constantly remind myself from now on.