“How unconscious we are, often, that giving may actually be asking, asking at the very least for attention. I am sure I err in this way myself. This kind of giving for selfish reasons often ends in frustration and even recrimination: ‘I have given you so much. Why don’t you answer or respond?’ which is to say, ‘When I love you so much, why can’t you love me?’”

–May Sarton, Journal of a Solitude

Sometimes, we can be needy by giving. Sometimes, we can be generous by taking.

Agree, disagree?

Gretchen Rubin is the author of the #1 New York Times Bestseller The Happiness Project—an account of the year she spent test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific studies, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier—and the recently released Happier at Home and Better Than Before. On her popular blog, The Happiness Project, she reports on her daily adventures in the pursuit of happiness. For more doses of happiness and other happenings, follow Gretchen on Facebook and Twitter.

Image courtesy of Coley Christine.