Gift

One of the first things I do in the morning is to open my personal emails especially after I have sent a message to some people. I guess it is but normal to expect a response from them. So I get so excited when I see a response, or disappointed, to a greater or a lesser degree, when I don't get one. Sometimes I would reason out that the other person should have at least acknowledged receipt of my message.
But come to think of it, who would want to read or to receive anything from anybody who did it only out of a sense of propriety or breeding? Instead, we would want that the gift or the favor come from the goodness of the other person's heart. Let me put it this way, we would enjoy the message or the favor if we know that the person is happy in giving us this favor.
I think this is one of the secrets of joy: to see everything as a gift that comes from the goodness of God and of people.
When I deal with people on a tit-for-tat basis, I become attached to "what is my due" that I look at people with suspicion. Instead when I let go of "my claims", then I look at everything as a gift.