Giving, but Not Receiving

When we open ourselves up to our respective communities, do we fail to receive what these people and places are so uniquely primed to offer us? Too often it seems that in our North American culture we are oriented to the "what I can do" or "what I can offer." Our culture's blatant endorsement of rugged individualism can explain some of this attitude, but more deeply still I think that control is driving this attitude. We want to dictate the where, when, why, and how of our interaction with other people and places. It disturbs us to be surprised or caught off guard. As such we tend to position ourselves as servers because traditionally servers occupy the position of control and power. We interact with the people and places that compose our community in ways that ensure that we need not be vulnerable or open to mystery. In short, we largely perpetuate a static relationship with our communities, failing to fully immerse ourselves in the dynamic, unpredictable relationship that follows when we live in communities where we admit our ability to both give and receive. What would it look like to receive the gifts of our communities? How can we more faithfully maintain a posture of humility, ready to both give and receive?