We can easily see the person who always takes and never gives as problematic.

Interestingly, the person who always gives and never takes is often considered a saint.

There is both an ingoing and outgoing breath. Breathing and life itself is not possible without their co-equal existence. Imagine trying to sustain on just breathing in, or just breathing out.

In both cases — the always taker and always giver — we find a similar type of poverty. The taker lacks healthy concern for others and the giver lacks healthy concern for self.

Always giving is a clever way to hide. Deep inside the individual knows they will be externally rewarded for their "humility." By getting busy by always giving, you can avoid connection and intimacy, and avoid the more overt consequences of always taking.

Like any other path in the extreme, such giving becomes unsustainable after some time. Hiding, too, becomes unsustainable as the soul yearns for connection and intimacy.

Learning to receive (take) is a skill. It requires understanding that, in many cases, receiving is as important as giving. It requires understanding your worth and value. And, it requires the courage to hold the connection and intimacy that typically results.

If it is that easy to give, it should be that easy to take or receive. If not, then the giving is a masked hiding strategy waiting to be massaged.