Gift Giving

Just the Right Gift

“A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal.”

Steve Mariboli (Life, the Truth, and Being Free)

My family and I have stopped giving each other Christmas gifts. We arrived at this decision gradually, and not for lack of love. Over time we grew tired of the excess that Christmas has become—the packed malls, the commercialism, the exhausted, grouchy shoppers. Instead, we gather for a simple meal, and conversation. If it's cold outside, we make a fire and drink hot chocolate. No one goes away feeling cheated, and there's no mess of paper and packaging to clean up.

The love-language of some people is giving gifts. I understand that. They express love by giving and receiving gifts, even if there's nothing on earth they actually need. These same people typically love to shop; they get a lot of satisfaction out of finding just the right gift. And, of course, there are millions of people in this world who actually need someone to give them gifts; who have so little that their basic needs go unmet. If we could get these two populations together, we'd really have a reason to celebrate the season by giving gifts.

But there's one gift that can be given to anyone and everyone, and that's the gift of kindness. Whether it comes as a bowl of soup and a slice of cornbread, or as a kind word or deed, it can be given any time of day, any time of year. I have a neighbor who walks her dogs every morning about six-thirty. On her way back home, she steps into an elderly neighbor's driveway, picks up her newspaper, and places it on a wall so it will be easier to reach. The elderly woman had been dragging her paper with a rake to higher ground so she could reach it without risking a fall. That simple gesture costs the woman with the dogs absolutely nothing, and means the world to her neighbor. Kindness, consideration, and compassion—these are gifts anyone can give and everyone needs every day, all year long.

I wish for each of you a beautiful, and kind Christmas.

                                                             In the Spirit,

                                                                  Jane