Yay! I just finished putting the finishing touches on the holiday gifts for our professional contacts. With each strand of white ribbon curled, my intention of joy and connection was present throughout the process.
I thought of each individual while signing cards and envisioned the delight that recipient might feel upon opening the gift and biting into a homemade cookie.
WVM December 2015 Cristina LIFE ImageI love giving gifts. Gift giving is a great way to practice looking through another’s eyes. It allows for approaching the world from a different perspective by putting us in the position to think about how to bring joy to someone by making or selecting just the right item or service. It is wonderful to have the opportunity to focus on another person and connect through an offering.
However, one thing that bothers me about our culture is the gift giving gluttony model. Somehow, we find ourselves in a society where there is a lot of pressure put on us to produce gifts on command through a season of furious, often stressful shopping.
Most of us are taught that to only give gifts at a designated moment- when the night is at its peak and the light begins to return around the Winter Solstice and when the Sun returns to the astronomical position in which you were born. Now, I am totally up for celebrating the birth days of my clan and the return of the light, but I don’t agree with being limited to just that.
I would like to suggest we embrace a culture gifting on a regular basis. It really takes the pressure off to be comfortable offering gifts when I feel like it rather than having to store it all up for late December.
Phew! What a relief! And there is nothing quite as heartwarming as the delight of someone receiving a ‘celebrating you’ gift.
Here’s the bite of food for thought to add to the gift giving mix. Isn’t it interesting how presents and presence sound the same? The greatest present you can give to another person is your presence. It can’t be bought, which means it is priceless.
Consider this holiday season offering at least one gift of presence to a loved one. It could mean spending an afternoon together, providing a service to them, or making and sending a dozen cookies of the month.
Those are the gifts that no one else but you can give. They have the highest value to the recipient, no matter how much the advertisements tell you otherwise. Granted, the gift of presence costs more than money, but the rewards for your effort will be appreciated in ways you can’t even imagine at this moment.
Don’t take my word for it. Experiment with giving a gift of presence and see for yourself.
