Presence

Everyone’s heard of the “gift that keeps on giving” that resonates with the ritual of giving which shows up this time of year.

There is the kind of giving that hints at a value-added quality that perhaps, carries a deeper meaning – like the gift of a special piece of jewelry, a book, or a reward of significance celebrating a defining moment in a person’s life. Every time we look at, read or wear the gift, we remember who it came from and why.

Many times, we are confronted with holiday games like Secret Santa or Dirty Harry to give a gift to someone and we are anxious how to make it useful and meaningful for the recipient. Most times we don’t even know the recipient or his or her taste or personality and so we generically figure out something worthy and appropriate to give. We may have been given a spending limit – a restriction I eliminated by giving myself permission to spend more if the gift is to properly represent my desires for giving.

I have friends and family whom I don’t see often, so we each purchase interesting trinkets and gadgets, soaps, picture frames, lotions, socks, teas and items to the other person’s liking and personality. When we meet up, we hand each other the delightful gift bag of goodies. The delight is in seeing a person who is dear and whom we haven’t had the pleasure of enjoying in a while. The delight is in the treasures they choose to collect on our behalves and in relishing our collective abilities to “ooh” and “aah” and find places in our lives for our new possessions.

For me the gift that keeps on giving is enjoying the presence and feeling of seeing someone whom I haven’t seen in a while and knowing that in a little while we will each part to begin anew our ritual of anticipating seeing each other again.

OTOLI