It can feel easier to offer help than to receive it. Offering lets me stay useful. Receiving asks me to acknowledge that something has been difficult and that I cannot manage every part alone.
There is no need to turn every kindness into a debt I must repay before tea. A simple thank you allows the other person to have given something. Mutual care can develop over time without a running total. I am interested in relationships where nobody needs an accounts department to work out whether they are allowed to be loved.
An original reflection by Theo Luke Dornan. Independent and not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous or AA World Services.