“In every encounter we either give life or we drain it; there is no neutral exchange.” – Brennan Manning
Of all the gifts that we could ever give to another person, none holds more potential than giving life itself. And I love the idea that every interaction I have with another human being offers me that grand opportunity.
It doesn’t matter if my next encounter is a short conversation, an email, a meal, or a 4-hour business meeting, it always offers me the same opportunity… to brighten another’s existence by breathing life into theirs.
Once correctly understood and applied, this simple, profound thought calls us to be more intentional, more thoughtful, and more persistent. It calls us to…
- Smile more.
- Hug more.
- Give more compliments.
- Write more love notes.
- Offer more forgiveness.
- Ask more follow-up questions.
- Show more interest.
- Have more compassion.
- Talk to more children.
- Remember more names.
- Leave bigger tips.
- Use kinder words.
- Laugh at more jokes.
- Make more eye contact.
- Treat others to more coffee.
- Listen more intently.
- Give more time.
- Stop to catch-up longer.
- Promote others more often.
- Be more optimistic.
- Be more sympathetic.
- Be more patient.
- Celebrate more successes.
- Ask to pray more often.
- Dream bigger dreams for others.
- Cook more meals.
- Ask elders for more advice.
- Spend more time reminiscing with old friends.
- Donate more to charity.
- Remember more details.
- Sing more songs.
- Display more affection.
- Give more apologies.
- Focus less on differences.
- Invite more to come along.
- Read more books to your child.
- Offer to help more often.
- Trust more.
- Give more responsibility.
- Say more thank-you’s.
Give more life. Because there, you’ll find more for yourself as well.
Kristy Powell says
I love the duality of the quote at the top. It really challenges every interaction, conversation, breath. I think we think we can be neutral, but we can’t. And this consideration can be frightening on bad days and such a wonderful gift on good ones. Truly believing this can also be empowering, and that excites and motivates me!
Rob C says
“In every encounter we either give life or we drain it; there is no neutral exchange.“
Nonsense. Every day we all have plenty of encounters that we’re indifferent about or that have hardly any impact on us. To categorise all encounters as either giving or draining is overly simplistic.
This post started badly and got worse as it went on.
“Talk to more children” – not unless you want an angry parent chasing you and some rather nasty accusations.
Don’t get me wrong, the world would be a better place if we were all nicer to each other, but we don’t need poorly thought out tripe like this to remind us.
joshua becker says
Rob, I’m glad to hear we both agree that the world would be a better place if we were all nicer to each other. I’m all for it.
Rob C says
What a load of woolly nonsense. To sum up this post, “Be nicer to each other”.
Gretchen T says
I LOVE Brennan Manning. He is an amazing writer, so I know that any post that comes after a quotation from Brennan Manning will be a good one. Thanks for reminding us of ways to focus on others and the feelings we give them when we’re with them.
Michelle Poteet says
Great list – thank you! “Promote others” is one of my favorites on your list. This is a great reminder to stop thinking/talking so much about ourselves, and promote the great folks around us!
Luinae says
41. Be more. All the time
Love this list, it’s brilliant!
Sara R. says
Thank you for this… I needed to hear these suggestions and remember the possibilities.
sherri kruger says
Hey Joshua!
What an inspiring post. I really do feel great after reading this. I’m off to play with my kids now and breathe a bit more life into them (and me).
Thanks for this!
Have a great rest of the week.
Sherri
Tiffany says
Love this post. It came with great timing to my life! I have been very focused lately on what I am and am not getting from relationships. It has led me to be very negative and hopeless about certain things. I decided to instead focus on what I am giving and not worry about what I get, and a very funny thing happened. Almost instaneously I started getting back exactly what I was giving: love, kindness, affection, humor, intimacy. Turns out I needed to focus on giving more life to what I though was lacking.
Funny how that works :)
mary froncek says
Life to me is about giving hope to all that cross my path, Even when it gets rough around the edges, enter it with a smile, you can come through anything with hope and a smile!!!