What motivates us in our relationships with the material universe?
Let’s examine a case. When I go to the grocery store to buy food, I necessarily value the money in my pocket less than the food I’m going to buy. Otherwise, I wouldn’t buy it. On the other hand, the grocer values the food he sells less than the money he will get in exchange. So, we both give up something of less value to obtain something we value more. It’s a win-win situation.
Isn’t that the same with all our relationships, especially interpersonal ones? Employer-employee, friends, lovers and marriage come to mind? If we don’t feel we are getting more than what we are giving, we will not have a relationship.
And of course there is a temporal component to this. A relationship may start out win-win but change over time. You start to feel the value you receive is not worth the value you give. That’s why people change jobs, why friendships wither, why marriages fail.
But there’s another aspect to this. There’s also the value that I receive individually from my actions independent of a relationship. That value is solely determined by my internal being. But you have to be careful. Is it your ego that determines the value or it is the Witness in you? It’s an important distinction. You need to think about your motivation. Is it altruistic or selfish? Honestly, sometimes it’s hard to know. I do know I feel really good when I help people without any thought as to my ‘reward’. That’s why I’ve been volunteering most of my adult life. I just want to project positive energy into the universe. After all, as a Witness to Creation, it’s why you’re here.
