Are You Resisting or Receiving?
If I said something nice to you, would you resist, deny or even redirect it? Or would you be open and fully receive the gift of it?
Awhile back I put this experiment to the test with my viewers on Facebook.
I was participating for a second time in the #itsSafetoShine #21DayVideoChallenge with my friend, Jenn Lederer. The challenge meant that I would show up via Facebook Live everyday for 21 days.
Now, when I first did this challenge, I totally over thought every aspect of the videos. I would look at the prompt, and then I would spend the entire day brainstorming a “script” to share with my viewers.
In all honesty, I was resistant to showing up in the world, worried and afraid about how others would respond.
As this was my second time participating and I was in the midst of teaching the end of the Abundant Living for the Sensitive Soul online course, my focus had greatly shifted.
Instead of resisting, I wanted to receive! I wanted to play! I wanted to dance in my own abundance, be present and relaxed, connect with others and have fun.
So instead of pre-planning, each day I would look at the prompt moments before I went live and then 3, 2, 1, “Hello, World!”
No resistance, just presence. No hesitation, just being.
On January 25th, the prompt was the phrase, “What if I told you…” and without any preparation or pre-thought, I hopped on screen and said this:
WHAT IF I TOLD YOU...
THAT YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL?
The result of this simple prompt was fascinating.
In a culture that pushes a very specific idea of beauty, this basic compliment can bring up bucketloads of old messages and negative thoughts.
I believe it came out of me because I had been practicing myself as well as inviting others to practice receiving love and abundance on all levels. And as I did, I began to notice that when I would compliment people, they would resist it.
Here’s what happened in the comments of my live video:
There was one person who blushed but received the compliment fully.
This person was Jenn Lederer, the leader of the challenge - clearly someone who is practicing receiving abundance!
There was one person who fully turned the compliment down.
This is the more common experience I have out in the world, where you give someone a compliment and they immediately knock it away. Me? You’re crazy. Yeah, right. Usually with an eye roll thrown in, too!
What I found really interesting was this: The majority of my viewers complimented me.
Now, this was a wonderful gift and it was good practice for me to continue to receive love and abundance in my own life, but it made me curious if the sharers of love were receiving it and then giving it back to me or just redirecting it away from themselves to someone else… perhaps someone they felt was more worthy than them.
I wonder this because I see it happen a lot. Beautiful humans questioning their worth. Me, included.
THE TRUTH IS, WE ARE ALL WORTHY.
If someone is glowing next to you, it is a reflection of the light within you.
AND, our ability to receive love, yes, even in the form of compliments, relates to our ability to receive abundance in all forms.
This is why it is so vital to practice saying YES and THANK YOU to the love that is constantly being poured in our direction.
Receive a beautiful day, receive a precious moment, and yes, receive a compliment.
And no, I’m not telling you to gloat, but in a world starved of love, we need to practicing receiving what’s already in front of us.
Our resistance keeps us stuck in the past, listening to old messages that honestly are just not true, but we’ve been listening to them for so long it’s hard to believe anything else.
So I know it can be hard, but I invite you to practice. Practice taking a deep breath and saying, “Thank you.” Practice opening your arms to the sun, to the opportunity or to the gift, and saying, “Yes, thank you, more please.”
When we practice receiving fully and with love, a new world of possibilities and abundance opens its doors and welcomes us in.
So much love,
Kelsey