For the holidays, Thomas Fiffer offers a brief meditation on the meaning of gifts.
___
Tomorrow morning, if you celebrate Christmas, you’ll exchange gifts.
Gifts in brightly wrapped boxes decorated with bows.
But there is already a gift in your life.
Beyond the gift of your life itself, there is another gift.
A gift more precious than anything under your tree.
This gift could be a person’s love.
Or your charismatic presence.
A particular talent or ability.
Or a unique attribute.
An amazing smile.
A superior strength.
A rare resilience.
A treasure you share with all that remains inexhaustible.
This gift is yours.
Yours alone.
But you don’t own it.
You are instead its keeper and steward.
And if your gift is to accompany you on your walk, it needs a helping hand.
The outstretched hand of gratitude.
The warm clasp of appreciation.
And the soft touch of humility.
Extend these, and your gift will travel with you, enriching your life and the lives of others wherever you go.
Hold them back, and your gift will wither, dry up, and fade away.
Your gift is yours.
And so is the choice.
Originally published on Tom Aplomb
Photo courtesy of author