There’s a funny thing about receiving:
Most of us think we’re decent at it… until life hands us something unexpected. Something good. Something tender. Something our hearts don’t quite know how to soften into yet.
Recently, while I was at a training retreat in Mexico, I experienced several profound moments that all centered around receiving. And as I reflected, I kept thinking of you… because receiving is something so many of us struggle with, often without realizing it.
The Hug I Didn’t Know I Needed
During our opening ceremony on the beach, a native healer gave me one of the most genuine hugs I’ve ever received—the kind that feels like being fully seen, fully safe, fully held.
It was the kind of hug I imagine I offer others.
But receiving it?
Neighbor… the first thing I noticed was how uncomfortable I felt.
I realized my body seemed stiff as a board!
Not because anything was wrong or inappropriate—simply because it was unfamiliar.
You see, many of my past experiences with men have left parts of me bracing instead of softening.
But there on the beach, in that tiny moment of awareness, I felt myself breathe… relax… and receive.
Awareness truly is more than half of our becoming…
I Am Loved
A few days later, during a drawing exercise, I found myself writing the words I’ve written countless times:
“I am love.“
Love as a verb.
Love as in giving.
Love as in how I strive to show up in the world.
But then something rose up inside me—quiet, gentle, and new.
These next words seemed to write themselves inside the heart image that I’d planned to mirror from the other side:
“I am loved.“
Where I am love is the giving,
I am loved is the receiving.
Two sides of the same truth.
So simple.
So profound.
I realized that I have been merely regurgitating those words without truly, intrinsically believing them, Neighbor. Most of us have seen the phrase “You are loved” in countless spaces and places.
It’s been spoken and shared for as long as humans have sought meaning—from scripture to story circles, from ancient spiritual teachings to today’s healing practices—echoed across time in every culture reminding us that we are loved… right down to the meditation apps and motivational memes repeating the same message.
When the Mirror Appears
I often see this in my work with clients, too—people who pour out support, care, and compassion for everyone around them, yet barely notice the subtle ways they push away the very things they most need. Receiving can feel foreign until awareness opens the door.
Can you relate, Neighbor?
Have you had moments like that too—where life holds up a mirror to show you a truth you already knew but hadn’t yet internalized… a truth you were finally ready to receive in and embody?
The Bite That Melted Away an Old Pattern
Another moment came later at dinner.
A retreat sister’s slice of beef looked so delicious, I couldn’t help but comment on it! And when she offered me a bite? I declined.
Instantly, I recognized it—that old pattern rising up: the instinct so many of us have to push away what’s being offered… to deny ourselves the simple, sacred gift of receiving.
There are so many reasons we do this, but that’s a reflection for another day…
But this time, the pattern melted away as tenderly as that little bite of beef would turn out to be.
I shared what I noticed, and we both laughed—because anyone who’s ever struggled to receive will likely relate to the funnier side of rejecting someone’s gift of time, money, energy, food… or [insert your whatever].
Then I asked if the offer still stood.
(It did. And Neighbor… that morsel was divine.)
What Are You Ready to Receive?
Support?
Ease?
Clarity?
A path forward?
A moment when you get to be held for a change?
Receiving isn’t always easy.
But it is one of the most potent, courageous steps we can take on our healing journey.
And you, Neighbor…
you deserve to receive just as fully as you give.
If this reflection stirred something in you, I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to share your own “receiving” moment in the comments—your story might be exactly what another Neighbor needs to read today.