Throughout the duration of societal goading, I’m sure you have often heard the phrase “It’s better to give than to receive”. While this adage might have ounces of sincerity to it, people have yet to neglect how the act of giving elicits auspicious feelings between both the giver and receiver which fundamentally incites one of the most prevalent interactions you can have with someone.

In that sense, you can dictate that to give is better than to receive but in order to really comprehend the act of giving, you need to first realize the complexities within the realm of receiving.

The gesture of giving and receiving has a great toll on relationships. To distinguish yourself into one or the other, reflecting on past experiences or marinating in the thought of who you are as a person can help categorize yourself.

It’s helpful to note that it’s okay to get emissions of rosy blush feelings from receiving a gift, there is never nothing wrong with loving the idea of accepting a gift.

Others may have that maternal instinct to emotionally provide for other individuals and it evokes pride in them being able to give acts of appreciation.

With that said, the act of giving, whether it be to friends, loved ones, or those in need of help, has been mainly normalized and modeled throughout childhood. What was never taught the importance of being able to receive something and it doesn’t even have to be a gift.

Being a considerable “great gift giver” can grow into feelings of resentment due to your needs not being met as much by others around you. It’s important that you know to replenish those vices and have your desires met, the more you learn to receive the better you will be at giving.

Then again giving is such an important part of our multifaceted world, and whether you are giving from a place of guilt, or just genuine joy it ultimately comes from the psychoanalytical part of ourselves that we still are discovering as we grow older.

I want to reflect that giving is a luxury and often is abused by people who tend to be Machiavellian. It shouldn’t come from a place of cruelty, obligation, or manipulation because then that defeats the entirety of what giving is.

No one ever touches on the necessity of being able to receive something and I think it’s because people perceive that to receive is to expect, when in reality. it’s not that. Receiving is showing appreciation and being able to ponder back on that exchange and feel loved.

So ultimately, when the question of “which is better” arises in this situation, there’s no tangible answer really, giving and receiving intertwine in ways that our minds may not even comprehend.

Think of it as an aspect of nature, we get oxygen to be able to breathe and in return, we provide carbon dioxide so the organisms that surround us with that integral part of human survival can keep on giving so they keep receiving.

It doesn’t have anything to do with guilt or greed but the act of just being grateful and when we want to show someone that, we give. 

The structural formation of our world is dependent on giving and receiving, it’s an act of self love overall and admiration for those who influence us as we develop.