Keep the Change

Working in a retail environment, I have noticed a circulation of the energy we call money. There are those customers when they are offered a few cents in return for the money they have used to pay for the services they requested, they will say, “keep the change.” Some will stand and wait for a penny, and some customers occasionally come up a few cents short. In the big scheme of things, the customers who say, “keep the change” make up for the ones who are a little short.

It seems to me that this is the way of the universe. There is the give and take of all of existence. Bees pollinate flowers. It benefits both the bee and the flower. We humans give out carbon dioxide and take in oxygen while trees do the opposite. We all are involved in the give and take of the universe.

The problem arises when there is inequality in the giving and the taking, which is the biggest problem in global warming. We humans are taking all of the resourses of Mother Earth and not giving enough back. Many times I have found that givers have a hard time taking and takers have a hard time giving. If a person who is a giver by nature doesn’t take time to recharge themselves and fill themselves back up with the energy they are always giving out, they can become ill and make it necessary for others to give to them. If a taker who is accustomed to having others give to them never gives of themselves or the blessings they receive, even if it is not money they give, they will find themselves always in need of a handout. They may find that their sources dry up as even the most generous givers get tired of giving to those who never seem to be able to improve their conditions.

For those of us, including myself, who tend to get a little unbalanced one way or the other, we all need to learn that there is give and take and that it is universal law. If we give a lot, then we need to spend some time renewing ourselves. Spend some time in nature, exercise, meditate, pray, play, whatever it is that renews our souls. If we are a taker, then learn to give. Volunteer for a charity, help an older person clean their house or wash their car, mow their grass. Or it may be something simple, like telling someone to “keep the change.”