what did you learn today?

[Plenum]

I had some interesting thoughts about the nature of 'sharing' or 'giving' these last 24 hours.

the use of the word 'sharing' puts an emphasis on 'giving' and somehow someone being the giver and the other being the recipient. It's a notion that comes from childhood.

and sharing is great and all, and giving is most awesome

but in relation to the society, I've been thinking a bit more deeply about this aspect of the individual and the society.

I sort of shifted the understanding of 'sharing' away from the lines of 'giving' and rather to the notion of 'not withholding'. This may sound like semantics, but I can explain a bit more about what I mean about 'not withholding'.

when there is the sense of 'giving', there is also the possibility of what one gives of being rejected, or not accepted, or not valued. That can be a problem if the self understands this, and then one feels the need to perhaps give more, or always looking for opportunities, etc etc. That is of course, just one response, and others might react differently to it etc.

but if the emphasis is shifted to the self and 'not withholding', then the self and society can be seen as being integrated and merged; the 'not withholding oneself' means the boundaries are not really seen as being hard and definitive; there can be a flow between the self and society.

and by 'not withholding', the society can still reject or not value what one is, but on the side of the self, there is no rejection or reactivity. One is 'not withholding' who one is, and so there is an honesty and directness in the interactions. One is not insisting that societal interactions must take place in a certain way, but the interactions that do present themselves, one is allowing the full flow of the self to interact, given the parameters and cirumstances of the situation (and also recognising factors like appropriateness, helpfulness, service etc). The attitude of 'not withholding' sets the possibility of the full spectrum of interactions that may be possible, given their specific eventuation.

so rather than considering it 'sharing my time', 'giving my resources', etc etc, one can shift the attitude to 'not withholding' who I am.

the 'not withholding' statement also implies a state where boundaries are not regarded as definitive (there is a flow between self and other), but also that the act of 'withholding' is the more blocked and dis-aligned with energetic flows.

so one does not need to 'force' oneself to share or give or take on the role of a 'lightworker' etc etc. All one needs to do is not withhold who one is (whatever skills, abilities, insights, knowledge that one has), and the society can utilise, accept, or not accept, or find opportunities.

as has been pointed out by someone else on these forums, the self and society are not really distinct. Putting this attitude into clearer perspective can clear any self blockages that one may have accepted unknowlngly through a difficult childhood in which the self was seen as being rejected by the larger society.