The gift of giving has been with us from the beginning of time. We’ve always wanted to show how much we are thinking of someone else, especially when something strikes us as beautiful, and we can't wait to share that experience with someone else.
As we observe the beauty around us and feel the warmth, we want to share that warmth.
We receive a flower and pick it up, knowing that sharing it with someone else will allow us to bring that experience to a friend or loved one. This is common in the entire animal kingdom. We see this in the simplest creatures.
When a penguin chooses a mate, he brings her a special rock to show his appreciation. When a cat or a dog wishes to play, it will bring us a toy to play with. When a child wishes to get engaged, they bring you something that they like and care for.
This desire to feel the same warmth we felt when we first saw something and share it with someone else, and watch them receive it, is like having a second opportunity to feel good.
As we mature and society advances, the idea of gift-giving can sometimes be overshadowed by wanting to get something bigger and better, sometimes forgetting that it is just the simple act of sharing that gives us so much joy.
When we give a gift, we are also receiving it. We receive the look of appreciation in the person's eyes upon whom we bestowed the gift. Through our gift-giving, we are including someone else in our experience of love and appreciation.
By the very act of giving, we are also receiving.
The gift of receiving
We need to remember to be a gracious receiver. We need to remember that by accepting this act of love from someone and giving them the opportunity to feel that warmth by receiving their gesture with gratitude, we open a whole new level of emotions that are vital to being human.
Sometimes, in different parts of the world and in different societies, receiving and giving gifts has a cultural connotation to it which changes the way the gift is given and received.
Other times, we are taught that to show humility, we should always say, "Oh, you shouldn't have done that." But rather than being gracious, let us think about how it makes the person who is giving feel when we reject their generosity and kindness.
Receiving a gift with appreciation allows the other person to feel good and warm about their gesture.
If we keep in mind that it's not the expense of the gift or what the gift is, it is the genuine gesture behind the giving that is the true gift.
The true gift of giving is love, unconditional love.
Unfortunately, sometimes gift-giving is done to gain favor or to be manipulative. When the gift is given out of pure love, it is received with care and love. When a gift is given with the idea of receiving something back, it loses the potential for healing. It may become a means to get something, like using it as a bribe.
Giving something to someone because you think they should have it, and it may not even be something that they desire, is not true giving. When someone keeps buying you things they think you should have without even asking or knowing what you need, they are satisfying their needs, not wanting to really care about your needs, and just fulfilling their need to keep buying you things.
Every Tuesday evening, I have a heart-centered meditation at my center in Mesa, Arizona. I call it the open-heart meditation. I guide the group into our heart’s center, feeling it with joy, feeling it expands and vibrates faster and faster until we become our true essence as beings of light.
If anyone is in the Phoenix or Mesa area, please give me a call and be part of our open-heart meditation.
I see you, I appreciate you, I honor you
© Care’n Mooney
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