When you were a child, did you ever play that game with a friend whereby you see who can hold their breath the longest? This was a game we played whilst in the swimming pool and my sister usually won! ☺

Whether or not you’ve played the game – try it now. Take a deep breath in and hold it for as long as you can (without fainting of course!). Did you notice what happened when you eventually let the breath go? It comes out in a great big Whoooosh and then your breathing returns in fast gasps. What you may also have noticed, while holding your breath in, is that it begins to feel more and more uncomfortable throughout your body. Your heart races, your lungs kind of jerk about trying to let go of the stale air and breathe in fresher air, your temperature might start to rise, and your whole body can shake too. These are all physical demonstrations of distress by your body to show you that you’re hanging onto your breath for too long. Eventually you have no choice but to let go and breathe in again. The same can happen when you hold your breath out and don't breathe in.

Life is very much like the human body in many ways, and breathing not least. Think about living in the flow of abundance. We have a tendency to hang onto the money we attract for fear of there not being any more to replace it. Lots of “what if” scenarios come up… and the whole “money for a rainy day” concept. Neither of these are necessarily “bad” things – but hanging onto wealth “just in case” is perhaps not always as helpful in the end as we think it will be.

Just like holding our breath, the more we jealously hang onto our money and resent parting with any of it, our life can start to convulse. Have you ever noticed that the minute you gain a whole load of money, something will often pop up that means you need to pay it forward again? That’s life’s nudge to remember that what you need will always be there as long as you live in the flow and not a place of stagnation. Our life can become incredibly unhappy when we resent parting with money – not just because we feel insecure about not having enough, but also because at some point the Universe will find a way of teaching us to get back into the flow.

Think about this… if everyone who gave you money resented giving it to you, don’t you think you’d notice it? It’s quite possible that you do notice when this happens and it’s not pleasant. So, bearing that in mind, it’s quite probable that people to whom you give your money (for whatever reason) may also sense any resentment from you. And thus the cycle continues.

Part of the issue here is that we feel that when we give away we have less and, for a short time, this may well be true. However, we are also making space for more to arrive into our life. In addition, we are enabling someone else to pay their bills and helping to support them in the flow. Do you see? By giving freely and without resentment, we are helping others support themselves and so in turn help them to support others, and so the cycle goes on. The flow of abundance… the more we all realise that it’s safe to trust the Universe to provide what we need and not hang resentfully onto our wealth, the easier our life (and the lives of those around us) will be.

Next time you find yourself paying a bill or handing over money to someone, instead of worrying about lack and/or resenting parting with the money, bless it and thank them for giving you the opportunity to stay in the flow. You don’t have to do this out loud – in your head will be fine. Notice how much better it feels to let go willingly rather than resentfully – and then also notice how much easier it is for you to receive from others. Remember, we need to breathe in as we as breathe out ;-)