Here amidst the holiday season, I’d like to explore what true giving really means.
Sometimes as modern humans, we can feel so rushed and stressed to buy gifts for each other. We feel so overwhelmed with obligation. We can think that our presents will only be acceptable if we spend a certain dollar amount. And so, our giving becomes limited before we have even begun. But this mindset can easily be overcome, because our true nature knows only abundance.
You see, we are limitless, generous beings who are briefly living in a limited world. True giving remembers this and comes from our overflowing hearts. It is a conscious gesture of love intended to enrich life by devoting our energy to another. Giving is sharing ourselves with generosity and then realizing that we have so much already, and so much to give. It is thinking about someone else’s joy before our own, and in the process, experiencing joy together.
As we all know, giving never feels that we “should” give. And it is not a contest. The prophetic expression “you get what you give” rings ever true. When we give with generosity, this is what we receive in life. But when we give from the ego, competition shows up for us in the future.
Giving is not concerned with exact and even exchanges. It is the opposite of expectation and lack. And when we reach deep and give what is most challenging, we grow immeasurably in love.
Giving is service. It is stepping out of the self to help others with our unique talents. It is erasing the lines that divide and striving to take care of all, because we see the whole picture of one.
That we set aside a time each year to give to each other is quite profound. Let it be a celebration ripe with spiritual exchanges rather than material. Let it be a thank you for the sacred that we share on this tumultuous human road.
Some Gift Ideas –
Instead of adding to our piles of stuff, imagine gifts that bring magic. Get excited, and experience the joy of putting together a unique present rather than spending hours at the dreaded mall. Create gifts of time, care, nature, and art. Use creative materials that inspire. Give a living plant or sapling tree, seeds or herbs in a unique, recycled planter, or a beautiful candle to make wishes upon, with a home made label. Give music and poetry that stir the soul, art supplies and a canvas, or a beautiful journal and pen. Think of gifts that take care of ourselves with healthful ingredients for the kitchen or bath, using artful bowls, spoons, or jars and ingredients, tied together with handwritten recipes. Give a favorite book with your inscription, photographs beautifully presented, or a travel log for adventures. Give handmade ornaments or materials for a vision board. Help with a special project that your friend’s been longing to start by giving your time and an object to begin it.
Give experiences. Present a small token that unfolds to greater meaning, such as a ticket, a menu or a key. Treat your friend to a beautiful lunch, and then go to see gorgeous paintings at a museum, or plan an evening to stargaze. Give special luxurious presents – things to splurge on with generosity – things you’d love to give yourself. Give what is precious to you that might bring joy to someone you love. Donate in another’s name to a cause that they care about. Give something thoughtfully humorous that heals with laughter, or a gesture of beauty like flowers and evergreen branches in a lasting vase. I can think of no better gift than a handwritten letter telling all that you love about another. Tie it with ribbon as a scroll or write it on an ornamental keepsake for them to turn to throughout the year. Heartfelt words hand-painted onto mere objects transform them into symbolic treasures.
Reignite the magic we knew so well as children, and have forgotten in our day to day. Harness the creativity we have to make something precious out of the homemade. Here, on the cusp of creating a more conscious world, there are so many gifts that can help our collective cause. Look for presents that inspire by being sustainable, spiritual, and conscientious – that benefit each other and our earth. The size and cost do not matter, just the gesture and the care. If your gift comes from your own talents and your heart, then it carries invaluable riches.
Rediscover the thrill of pure giving – one of life’s greatest joys! And give from your beautiful self. Give with life-changing love.
Share the Spiritual 