Note: Episode 14 Show Notes & Resource Guide are available at the end of this entry.

I used to think burnout meant I was giving too much. That I was too generous, too caring, too devoted to others' needs. There was almost a nobility in my exhaustion—a badge of honor that proved my goodness.

I was wrong.

The truth about burnout hit me like a lightning bolt when I encountered Parker Palmer's words: "Burnout does not result from giving all I have: it merely reveals the nothingness from which I was trying to give in the first place."

The nothingness from which I was trying to give.

Suddenly, everything shifted. My burnout wasn't evidence of my generosity—it was evidence that I had been offering false gifts. Gifts that looked like love but were actually born from my desperate need to prove my worth. Gifts that depleted me because they weren't mine to give in the first place.

Here's what I've discovered: when we give from our authentic essence—from what Palmer calls our "organic reality"—the gift renews itself. We don't deplete. We don't burn out. We flow.

But when we force ourselves to give what we don't naturally possess? When we offer services from our wounds rather than our wisdom? When we say yes from fear rather than love? That's when we create what Palmer calls "dangerous gifts"—offerings that look caring but ultimately harm both giver and receiver.

The woman constantly saying yes when her body screams no. The mother giving from exhaustion rather than abundance. The leader offering solutions she doesn't truly believe in. The friend providing advice from her anxiety rather than her wisdom.

These aren't acts of love. They're acts of desperation masquerading as nobility.

Your burnout isn't a character flaw—it's your body's fierce protection, preventing you from continuing to offer false gifts that diminish both you and those you're trying to serve.

But here's the beautiful truth: when you stop giving what you don't possess, space opens for you to discover what you actually do have to offer. And those authentic gifts? They're renewable. They're sustainable. They're sacred.

What would change if you only gave gifts that grew naturally within you?

In this week's Moon & Fire podcast episode, I dive deep into this revolutionary understanding of burnout and guide you through discovering the authentic offerings that are truly yours to give—the ones that will renew rather than deplete you.

Because the world doesn't need your false gifts, beautiful woman. It needs your true ones.

Listen to Episode 14:

EPISODE 14 SHOW NOTES

Episode #14: "Burnout as Sacred Messenger”

Brief Description:

What if burnout isn't about giving too much, but about trying to give what you don't actually possess? In this episode, I explore Parker Palmer's revolutionary insight that burnout reveals "the nothingness from which we were trying to give in the first place."

I'll share why burnout signals we've been offering false gifts - presents that look like love but come from our need to prove ourselves rather than authentic care. We'll explore the difference between giving from our organic reality versus forcing gifts that aren't truly ours to give, and why only gifts that grow within us can renew both ourselves and others.

You'll discover how to recognize when you're violating your own nature in the name of nobility, and I'll guide you through an exercise to uncover the unique gifts that are truly yours to offer - those sacred offerings that emerge from your authentic essence rather than depletion.

This episode is for the woman who's exhausted from trying to be everything to everyone and ready to discover the renewable offerings that flow naturally from her true nature. It's time to give from fullness, not emptiness.

key quotes

"Burnout does not result from giving all I have: it merely reveals the nothingness from which I was trying to give in the first place." - Parker Palmer
"When I give something I do not possess, I give a false & dangerous gift, a gift that looks like love but is in reality, loveless." - Parker Palmer
"When the gift I give to the other is integral to my own nature, when it comes from a place of organic reality within me, it will renew itself - and me - even as I give it away." - Parker Palmer
"The world doesn't need your false gifts, sacred woman. It needs your true ones."
"When we give from our authentic essence, the gift renews itself. We don't deplete. We don't burn out. We flow."
"What you have to offer right now is not only enough, but is actually the most powerful thing you have to offer your world if you will show up believing it is a gift."
"Your medicine often emerges not despite your struggles, but because of how you've learned to navigate them."
"Only when I give something that does not grow within me do I deplete myself and harm the other as well." - Parker Palmer
I’m learning to trust that my presence holds my power.

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