I’ve been struggling lately with fatigue and mild depression. The causes are many, including politics, but when I took a deeper inner dive I realized that I’d given away my power. I’d lost sight of my gifts. A recent book by Elizabeth Jarett Andrew,* has been instrumental in helping me get back on track. Andrew’s book uses authors and writing as examples, but her discussion encompasses any kind of art or human endeavor.

Andrew reminds us that we all have abundant gifts. “We might have abundant humor or hope,  skill or friendships,  heritage or culture,  knowledge,  faith,  kindness,  time, or energy. Everyone has the gifts of life, personhood, and experience. We each are resplendent with gifts.” Gifts like these are not earned––we receive them with our birth on the physical plane. We show gratitude when we acknowledge these gifts and share them with others.

In the West, our attention has been pinned to the market economy. Market economy (think capitalism) is based on scarcity, and the consuming of something in a quantifiable amount that fills a void. Gift economy, on the other hand, is of the spiritual realm and describes limitless abundance. It is based on the receiving and subsequent giving of our gifts. It is marked by the tending of circular relationships between givers and receivers, the creation of something intangible that enriches humanity.

I have been blessed with the talents of channeling and writing. But I don’t need to be a famous author selling thousands of books to have an impact on the world. I just need to place my attention on moving my gifts. The most important gifts I’ve been given are the capacity for kindness, Love, and compassion. Genuinely smiling at someone on the street enriches both them and me. Lovingly hugging someone in need enriches both them and me. Encouraging someone on their journey to wholeness enriches both them and me.

When we are receiving and sharing our gifts, we are co-creating spiritual evolution with the Universe.

 

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* The Release, Creativity And Freedom After The Writing Is Done (Skinner House Books, 2024)