In the movie “Spirited Away,” there is a hungry ghost called No Face. It offers of coins and eats those who partake. It’s not really explained why he eats the partakers.
He starts as wraith, hardly malevolent; he seems to pang for attention, not food. The character who won’t take what he offers is Chihiro, the protagonist. She asks what he wants. He can’t seem to say. It seems his mood fouls only after she declines the coin he offers.
Offering and asking is sometimes like that. Offering is easier than asking. It requires humility and vulnerability. An asker cedes an amount of control and safety. Yet asking is as important as offering. An eye level relationship requires asking and offering, give and take.
I’ve just finished 100 days of shipping which more offering than asking. My aspiration for the next hundred is to embrace the vulnerability of asking. I’m not much sure what it will look like, but today my first ask is, would you like to sign up for my email list? I promise I’ll not to eat you, (or anyone else), if you decline.
timmyr.com 