Giving is Receiving

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One of the most meaningful activities I've been involved with in the past few years has been volunteering. I volunteer as a Group Leader with the Distance Healing Network (http://the-dhn.com), I give Reiki healings twice a month to people dealing with cancer at a local cancer support center The Gathering Place (http://touchedbycancer.org), and for a year I was with The Cleveland Clinic weekly, giving Reiki to patients, staff, and visitors.


The reasons I started volunteering were many. I wanted to get more experience with Reiki and help those who want it. I wanted to balance my professional Reiki practice with offering energy to those who couldn't pay. And I wanted to also just have more opportunities to use this powerful gift to make the world better.


Usually, volunteering is about giving. Giving to others, offering your time, etc. But I found out that it's also about receiving. Here are some of the gifts I received as a result of volunteering:

• Watching people who were suffering from anxiety relax and smile
• Hearing people tell me that their pain went from a "10" to a "1"
• Hugs and thank you - more times than I could count
• Inspiring many of my students to volunteer also
• Setting an example for my children, who are proud of me
• Knowing that I'm doing something worthwhile, meaningful and powerful with my life
• Increased confidence that Reiki is there, every time

So, as it happens, the act of volunteering has given gifts to me also - equally if not even more than any effort on my part.

And so I am grateful for the gifts, and for the opportunity to share what I've learned with you also.

May we receive and acknowledge many gifts this season, and all year long.

Blessings.