Let us receive more blessings.

“The universe gives us so many gifts but what we actually receive is only 2% of that.”

I can't remember where I heard that, but it had a real impact on me. I was first struck by the part that says “The universe gives us so many gifts”. Like “The heavens overflow with love” and “The gods send only their angels”, it's the kind of idea that scientists tend to laugh off, crying “Prove it!” As a result, lots of people are cynical about this kind of thing, but, without a shadow of a doubt, I'm in total agreement. I don’t know why, but whenever I come across people saying things like “the universe gives us so many gifts”, I feel so happy, like “I’ve always thought that!”  I get filled with this sense of everything finally making sense – this wasn’t in any of my textbooks and I didn’t get taught it at school, but finally, someone’s told me about this!

The gifts it talks about are the things that come right when you need them - a flash of inspiration, an opportunity, a chance meeting.... or perhaps the book you've been looking for, the car you're meant to buy or the house that's just right for you. But, I got to thinking about the part that says “what we actually receive is only 2% of that”. Does this mean  that the universe is offering us things with a “here you go” and “I've got a present for you”, and we’re turning them away, saying “I don't need it”, “Nah, I'm good” or “I'm fine”?

If we’re always so busy and we’re thinking about so many things and have so many distractions, we’re never going to notice that the “gifts of the universe” are right in front of our eyes. Even though the universe provides us with exactly what we need, we take no notice and keep on fretting and fussing, all for nothing. But the good news is there's nothing really that we have to do to receive these gifts. On the contrary, all we need to do is slow down, still ourselves and be looking out for the signs.

In English, they say “All you need to do is allow good things to come to you”. The key here is the word “allow”. It's not about desperately trying to make things happen or putting effort into bringing things to you. It's about just letting it wash over you like a river. The big “rocks” that block this river of blessings might be things like a hectic lifestyle and feelings of negativity, but a lot of them are our beliefs about receiving - “I can't be given this over other people”, “I don't have the right to receive such things”. Without knowing it, we really do seem to be putting ourselves down.

However, we can resolve all of these things within ourselves. If we examine each of them one by one and clear them out, we can break down the dam that was blocking that river and it will flow again.

The universe only gives us exactly what we need right now. So, like little children, let us smile, let out a big “thank you” and just accept these gifts with open arms. The joy which we are so blessed to receive becomes infectious and will spread like wildfire to those around us. We are all connected after all.

  [You can find the original article in Japanese 「もっといただこう」here. ]