The Etiquette of Giving and Gratitude

My Sister Shawna Schuh graduated from finishing school twice. You may be asking: “Why would anyone do such a thing?” Well, it was purely altruistic on her part, though she may not have been consciously aware of it at the time. She went once for herself and once for me as a proxy.

If we are to be active and >>welcome<< members of Galactic Culture, we need to have some basic skills. Things like Common Courtesy, Patience, Honor and the Etiquette of Giving and Gratitude.

Now, the proxy system is too big of a subject to go into in the here and now (HNN), but suffice it to say, there was a very good reason for its existence. We all need extended assistance to help us accomplish what we must do, while we are busy attending to other more pressing matters – like surviving.

When it was time for Shawna to deliver her alembic distillate of etiquette and protocols, I was boorish and just barely surviving. But she was patient with me and gave me some very critical information which I shall share with you now.

1. After receiving a gift, you have 72 hours to respond with a “thank you”. This is so that you have time to process the gift, how it makes you feel and how you would like the giver to feel in your response to it. 72 hours. This is critical.
2. If you give a gift with the intention of receiving something in return, then you are not giving in the true Spirit of Giving, are you? You have attached an unwritten contract to it – one which the recipient may not have ever agreed to.
3. Furthermore, if you see someone in need, and it is within your power to fill that need – even if it causes temporary discomfort for you, would you not do your best to fill that need without expecting anything in return? This is how it’s done in Galactic Culture. Your return may never come from the recipient of your help, but the Universe is full of abundance and keeps very good books. Eventually all the books are balanced – in Divine Timing – not yours.

What inspired this Topside message? I have always been amenable to offerings of food with love. I may not always eat them of course, because the offering may not be on my list of dietary preferences. For example, I was offered an acorn one day by a squirrel that I had been feeding. I accepted it with gratitude, but it had been buried, and mud covered nuts isn’t necessarily appetizing to me. But I cherished the moment in my heart – as I do to this day. He was offering me his best.

Then there was the Cooper’s Hawk who dropped an evicerated pigeon in my courtyard. He had eaten half of it and saved the best for me. I was so touched. And it became something of a heart-string for me when I recall the moment. I was wearing a green lace dress – and though I have tossed the pigeon offering and the dress for reasons of my own, I always remember how he made me feel in the dress that day.

Of course, not to neglect the abundance of delicious and healthy food from Joe and his family and friends. But others may need to expound on that. Food is medicine, but medicine is NOT food.

Contrarywise, two Nebadon girls south of me, chewed some orange pith and left it on my stoop. I expressed gratitude for the offering, though I didn’t recognize the brand of “love” in it.

Now, very recently I was offered a jar of delicious looking dessert topping with pecans from Durango, CO. I remembered what Shawna had taught me, and decided to take the full 72 hours to process the gift and consider how it made me feel and how I wanted the giver to feel when I thanked her for it. I was just about to open it and taste it when the text came through – only about five hours after it was offered.

The text demanded a “thank you” and reminded me and my Brother about all the help they had rendered over the years. They were demanding a “return” on their investment. But little did they know, that they had already been receiving great returns, though not in the form they were expecting – the form they had “contracted” with us to receive – without our knowledge or consent. Little did they know, that behind the scenes, we were saving their lives and providing for them in ways they were unable to perceive.

I have gone to great lengths to ‘pay it forward’ so to say – the wisdom, the love, the etiquette and protocol lessons I learned from Shawna so many years ago. But many of those in my finishing school just saw me as a meal ticket, and when they didn’t like my course materials, they threw insults, curses and dog shit at me. Others have passed with flying colors. Next semester will be far more fun for all who attend class in Galactic Culture, but school’s out forever for those who failed.

I cleansed and blessed the jar from Durango, then while singing a love song to my King, I passed it along to the tennis players of the Kiowa.

In the essential things unanimity, in the non-essential things freedom with Divine Oversight. In all things honor.

Give fools their gold, and knaves their power;
Let fortune’s bubbles rise and fall;
Who sows a field, or trains a flower,
Or plants a tree, is more than all.
–John G. Whittier (1807–92)

The morphogenic field of the Earth is real.
IS REAL IS FREE

Update 8-14-2024 White Crystal Mirror, Magnetic Moon day 20, Year of the Blue Rhythmic Storm

It’s Finals Time.
(wow, already?)

"Try not to be a cautionary tale, but if you do become one, be a good one - with true repentance for example." 

~ nobody

As you get older, you have the time and the inclination to review your life and process triumphs – and regrets. We rescued a pit bull (American Staffordshire terrier) at the Humane Society on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 1999. She was about 18 months old, and her name was Mishiko as I recall, but Al wanted to name her Dargo after a Farscape character (though she was the wrong gender for that name, but I digress). She was on a kind of “death row” because that breed doesn’t last long in shelters that are not no-kill (so misunderstood they are). The rescue was a triumph, and she and I bonded like hand-in-glove. She protected me from dangers unknown, and I kinda spoiled her. But she learned many tricks and spent many hours with us in our office as kind of a shop dog keeping us all entertained.

Dog energy is heart energy and there’s absolutely no substitute.

I so wanted to find a dog biscuit recipe and make them for her, and if I had known then what I know now, I would have made ALL her food according to the BARF diet. Look it up. But in the thirteen years she was with me I never got around to that. It’s a regret.

Fast forward to about six weeks ago. Now, I’m in the habit of making braided dog chew toys out of old t-shirts. I love to recycle and repurpose things that would normally end up in the landfill, and that braiding keeps my hands busy when I’m commuting or watching tv. And on this particular day, I was shopping at a local spirits store when the shop keeper came in with his little staffie. Her name was Ellie and she so reminded me of Dargo that I just couldn’t get her out of my mind. So I decided to make her a special braided chew toy and deliver it on my next visit to the store.

The next time I visited the store, Ellie’s handler told me how much she loved the chew toy, so I told him that I would make her some more of them, which I did. But I didn’t stop there – silly girl. I decided to clear my karma and regrets over the biscuits and make her some bacon flavored ones too.

Crickets. I think I may have breached giving etiquette protocol. I dunno. I’ve always felt that you shouldn’t ever resist the temptation to do a kindness. But my intentions may have been misunderstood. I wanted and expected absolutely nothing in return for my gifts. They were for Ellie and no other.

Nevertheless, my karma is clear. I appreciate that Ellie’s handler indulged me in that.

I have more to say on this topic involving Coco (a Cheyenne Mountain dog) – the very first recipient of my braided chew-toys, the Humane Society and some etheric things, but that will have to wait for another day.

This day is about the guidance of heart.

If discretion is the better part of valor, appreciation is the better part of gratitude.