This is possibly the best gift that I’ve gotten in my adult life. It’s an ice cream scoop that I received from my former mother-in-law years ago. At the moment that I opened it, I didn’t know it was going to be the best gift. Don’t get me wrong! I appreciated it in that moment. It was obvious that the gift was for me. Not meaning that the tag on the wrapping had my name, it was deeper. She thought about me and bought that item with intention. I felt seen.
Gifts can express many things or possibly nothing at all. As I said before, I didn’t know this was going to be the best gift. The meaning of this item has morphed over the years. Initially, it was a functional tool that was for me. Then as my kids were born and grew, it became a part of our story. I used that item many times to scoop ice cream for them, and then they for themselves. Now it serves as a memory to a time that I don’t have many links to anymore. A time when I was young and trying to prove myself to people who barely knew me or what was to come but were willing to be kind. It’s been a constant through so many years, some good, some less than that.
The best gifts are not always the most expensive or the biggest. Sometimes the best gifts might not even look like gifts in the moment that they’re received. They may look like unwanted pain and hardship. Determining the difference between a gift and trash is not a question of price but rather perspective. In a world where we are exceedingly comfortable with throwing things, people and ideas away; perhaps a few gifts have been discarded in the process.
So as you go through your day, be on the look out for gifts. They may not always look like the way that you want but they’re out there. Often, the extra ingredients of time and perspective may need to be added.
Thanks Nancy!
Pete
When I buy wrapping paper, I buy it at the dollar store or on sale. The reason is that wrapping paper has almost no value in my eyes. It must meet two criteria: functional and appropriate. Other than that, it is just the mask that the gift wears before it is uncovered. A great gift makes up for horrible wrapping, the reverse is never true.
Huryk Unlimited 