Giving the Gift of Ourselves
Every year, about two days before Christmas, I experience something I am not particularly proud of.
Thinking about the gifts I've bought for my wife and kids, I get the feeling that I don't have enough for them. This feeling has almost nothing to do with how many gifts I've bought or how "good" the gifts are.
Beyond the quantity and quality of my offerings is the sense that my efforts to express my love for them is lame and doesn't really measure up to how I feel -- and that, somehow, they will be disappointed.
Indeed, there have been some "nights before Christmas" where I've left the cozy warmth of my home to return to the mall, looking for the perfect gift. It's humbling to witness this kind of behavior in me. And it's humbling to admit it. But it's also healing.
In time, with some reflection and a deeper dive into selfhoood, I've come to realize that it's not about fixing my flaws, patching up the quirks in my personality, or compensating for some imagined black hole.
It's about being.
The deep love we feel for the people in our lives begs to be expressed and yet the mind will never be satisfied with the form of its expression. No poem, no song, no diamond, no trip around the world will ever be enough.
In the end, the only thing we have to give -- is ourselves. And that is plenty.
Comments
Thanks Mitch for your thoughtful post. It is true that all we really have to offer is our own state. I, too, struggle with this yearning we seem to have for more and more stuff. This year I am trying to ask the question "What do my loved ones really need?" And then I'll work from there.
Posted by: Jamie Lee at December 19, 2010 09:37 PM
Thanks Mitch,
This year I am trying not to worry about such things and with what we have we can extend love, clarity, simplicity, peace, contentment, and happy acceptance to all our nearest and dearest thanks to our very nearest and dearest!
Have a lovely Christmas!
Posted by: Pamela Smith at December 19, 2010 11:42 PM
Thanks Mitch
Thank you for your blogs which keeps us informed of Maharajis events and inspirational quotes.
Have a blessed Christmas and a well desevered rest with your family.
Posted by: Thilesh Barath at December 25, 2012 01:25 AM
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