It’s really lovely to know that through giving freely, I can inspire someone to be more giving.

Sometimes though, I encounter a person who consciously (or unconsciously) feels free to consistently take more than they give.

I need to watch my balance with them. For as much as I love to give, and to encourage it, I don’t enjoy feeling used.

With this kind of person, I need to check in with my giving self, and be honest about who they are and what they want from me.

Meet the Taker.

The Taker feels entitled to get more than they give. They feel owed — not just by me — but by the world.

And they are driven to do whatever they can to get what they feel they deserve.

For them, it’s not about an exchange, a give and take of equals, it’s about getting what they need.

They are a taker, and they’re gonna take.

All the giving in the world can not fill their lack.

I could blame the Taker.

But I stay away from them instead.

They’re so caught up in their own stuff, their own feelings of lack, that they can’t possibly see my value, let alone their own.

What they value is their needs fulfilled. What they see are things that could fill them.

To attempt to create an exchange with them will only leave me feeling their lack.

My love of giving can never change their love of taking.

Until they change it themself.