What Do We Deserve?

Hello everyone!
What do we "deserve?" The dictionary definition of "deserve" goes like this:
To earn by service; to be worthy of (something due, either good or evil); to merit; to be entitled to; as, the laborer deserves his wages; a work of value deserves praise. To serve; to treat; to benefit. To be worthy of recompense; — usually with ill or with well.

Many times clients tell me that they "deserve" something; to be treated better by their partner, to have a better life, to have more money, etc. I recently asked a client why they felt that they deserved what they were asking me to help them obtain. I only asked the question because I am hearing a LOT lately about what people think they deserve!

I have clients tell me, "I was a good mother to my children, now I deserve some happiness in my life." Now this one always give me cause to pause. If you decided to have children, shouldn't you be a good mother?? Does being a good mother cause you to "deserve" some sort of reward for that? Or is being a good mother part of the idea of having children? Are the children the reward? Do you deserve "more" because you were a good mother? Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying one does or does not deserve something because of being a good mother. I am actually asking you, my readers, to weigh in on this!

Another thing I hear is, "I was a good wife to my husband. He left me anyway and now I deserve something better." So again, I feel like, well, if you are going to be a wife, should you not be a good one? Does your being a good wife mean you now deserve something better?

Then there is the, "I am a good person, I deserve good things in my life." Okay… so you are a decent human being. Shouldn't you be? Really, isn't it up to all of us to be, at the very least, a decent human being? Should there be a decent human being award? Now if by being a good person you mean you do works of charity, help the homeless and poor, and give freely of your time to the assistance of others, then, yes, maybe there is a merit badge for that! Maybe you are more "deserving" than someone who doesn't do those things. But if you are just sitting around, living your life, minding your own business, and not harming anyone else, I am not sure that means you "deserve" more than another "good person" who happens to be starving to death in Africa.

By the beginning of the definition of "deserve" above, to "earn by service" who amongst us is "deserving?" Should we be "earning" what we "deserve?" How do we earn it? I didn't say I had answers to these questions, maybe I just have questions! 😉

I do know that it is really starting to make me uneasy how many people lately are telling me what they deserve. When I ask them why, they generally get pissed off at me, so I am thinking that is probably not the best approach. 🙂 But I am truly curious about the sense of entitlement some people seem to have; like the world owes them something: The mother who was good to her children (so was raising the children so horrible that she now deserves a reward for it?); the spouse who was good, etc. Because we went through tough times, does that mean we are now somehow entitled to a reward? Was our "tough time" worse than someone else's? IS there a reward for tough times?

I DO get that we are all filled with books and talk shows and self-help gurus telling us how to feel good about our own self-worth, how to manifest our destiny, how to think positively about ourselves and our goals. But does that mean we necessarily "deserve" them OR are we in some way supposed to earn that which we think we deserve?

Now, most of you are working on spell work from us, and we here at Spellmaker always want you to reach your goal! Most of my thought process above does not come from me thinking that you don't "deserve" to reach your goal! 🙂 Not at all! But I am concerned that just thinking that you "deserve" something is not enough to bring it to you! I am worried that too much thought of "well, I deserve this" is somewhat counterproductive and makes us all work a little less harder to achieve what we want!

To say the least, I have really mixed emotions about this! I would love to hear your opinion!

Love, light, and peace,
Mambo Samantha Corfield

Comments

4 responses to “What Do We Deserve?”

  1. amanda Avatar
    amanda

    Hi Mambo,
    What a great question I think that this is. I would think that being a good mother should be a reward in itself. And being a good wife should be a reward unto itself. I think the problem comes in when people are picking the wrong people to concentrate their efforts on. If you are trying to be a good wife to your husband and he doesn’t give a hoot about you, then you should have realized that before you wanted to spend the rest of your lives together. Everyone deserves to be happy, but if you just sit around and wait for happiness to find you, I think you will be very disappointed. You have to go make your own happiness and then yes, you deserve it because you worked for it. The same thing goes with our spellwork. If you think you deserve your HD or whatever you are working towards, then you have to really work for it. That means no conflict and staying positive. Then yes you deserve the results you work so hard for. Ok, that is how I see it anyway!!

  2. C. Avatar
    C.

    I had to think about this post for about a day before answering. . . .
    first I think we can trace that “entitlement” thing back to being children and being told if we were “good” santa would bring goodies (and if not, a lump ‘o coal)! Who didn’t have an impression like that made on them when they were small? Some of us never got over it!!!
    i try to turn it around and say i have been given MORE than I deserve. Several years ago I had a serious illness and could have died; in fact since then have seen many people with the same illness die from it. Ever since that happened I look at anything good that happens as “bonus points”. I still get mad and sad and so on when I don’t get what I want/get my own way; but try to remind myself it could be a LOT worse. Even in this terrible economy, most of us have more than most of the world’s people will ever hope to have. This does not mean I do not throw my temper tantrums and sulk like anybody else but I also try to keep the big picture in mind. . . and intentionally make it bigger and bigger all the time.
    A hard question! Still not sure of the answer. . .

  3. Simone Greene Avatar
    Simone Greene

    Hmmmmn, perhaps I deserve to have a better word to use! I think another reason we think it is because we hear it so much. We don’t think about the actual definition until it’s pointed out.
    I’ve heard people say they deserve better than, say, an abusive partner.
    A few years ago, a friend talked me into applying for one of those home remodeling shows. Amongst the 30-odd pages of questions, they asked why I thought I deserved to be selected. Upon watching a few such shows, I noticed that in many cases the family had some sort of hardship, for example medical bills from a sick family member or an access need for someone to get around. Being divorced and getting back on my feet did not fit that description.
    Maybe we should just be able to say “I want this,” and be ok with that. Maybe we don’t need to justify it with reasons why we “deserve” it.

  4. Kristen Avatar
    Kristen

    I’ve never understood why anyone thinks they deserve something they didn’t specifically work towards (such as deserving a paycheck for hours worked, or a title to a paid off car).
    I quite honestly feel I deserve nothing in life. Yet, I receive, and receive, and receive. I’m always amazed when I get a gift, a card, or even shown kindness because I don’t really think that I’m entitled to anything unless it’s a specific reward/return on investment.
    I have no idea why I’ve always felt that way.
    Anyway, I found your blog by accident this evening. I was going online to order my son an Amazon gift card, and the prefilled message was something about “you deserve it!”. I got to thinking, does he really “deserve” it?
    I’m not saying he’s not worthy of the gift card. The gift card is a gift because I love him, and as my child he deserves love, respect, guidance, and all that good stuff.. but an Amazon gift card? No, I don’t think it’s deserved or earned. It’s just a gift card.

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