Sharing Our Gifts


Christmas is upon us, merely a few days away. As if on cue, an inch or so of snow has graced the ground here and just a bit more is anticipated. It allows for a beautiful landscape.

We have been rather consumed by events here at home. We have not sent out our Christmas cards and have decided that we will send New Years cards instead while reminding people that Christmas is a season, not just a day.

After twenty-five years of gift giving, Frank and I have trimmed that down to a trinket or two - hopefully something edible as we attempt to downsize our lives here.

We all know how to give the gift of a present, but it is more important to share the gifts that we were born with.

When the holidays come around, most of us join the masses in shopping for gifts, wrapping them, and giving them away.

Once we are in the mind-set that this is what we are going to do, we don’t hold back or struggle with the process.

We simply give the presents we have acquired, letting them go in the awareness that they were never ours anyway.

If we could apply some of this unquestioning generosity with our own inner resources and gifts, we might be able to give of ourselves more freely.

In truth, the gifts we hold within us only make sense when we give them away.

Imagine carefully procured and wrapped presents that remain in the house of the giver, never getting to the people who were meant to have them. If we hold back, not knowing quite when to share our gifts, we all lose.

Ironically, the more we give of ourselves, the more we have to offer.

For example, if we have a talent for singing but we hold it back, we sing less and have less experience. On the other hand, if we offer the gift of our voice to the world at every opportunity, our talent develops and becomes still greater, and we have that much more to give.

The same goes for any talent, including, listening, caring, helping, driving, laughing, smiling ... the list goes on. And, just like that Little Drummer Boy, so do we.

How we present our gifts can be likened to wrapping paper and ribbons. When we truly value what we have to offer, our presentation honors what lies inside it.

We speak well of our talents and introduce them with confidence and panache. Like a performer who chooses carefully what to wear and how to set the stage, we provide an environment that complements and enhances what we have to offer.

Far from being superficial, a beautiful presentation is as much a part of the energy of gift giving as the gift itself.

All these things together - the gift, the presentation, and the giving away -make up the joyful experience of bestowing our offerings upon the world.

The only gifts I have to offer for you throughout this season of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Solstice are my thoughts and words, and my love and light.

How appropriate on this day as we emerge from the darkness of winter and grow into the season of light as the days slowly grow longer.

There is a popular song "There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays", but remember ... "Home Is Where the Heart Is".

Blessings of the Season,

Rob