Well, the holidays are definitely here and shopping for the perfect gift has begun. Like me, I am sure you have plenty of loved ones on your list, all of whom are hoping that you don’t give them something that they have to return. Or, worse yet, can’t return.
I know one woman who won’t be returning the five pound fruitcake her accountant thoughtfully sent to her. Yes, I am actually one of the very few people that adores fruitcake. Alongside a cup of tea, I can’t imagine a more festive Christmas-time treat, with a single exception, of course.
The incomparable nature of the classic present of which I speak became so because of its rarity and demand. Few are able to find it to give and today, that dilemma continues to worsen. There is, however, no other present that makes another feel more special.
The price tag is enormous, mind you. Yet everyone can afford it if they so chose but not without “inconvenience” — the primary reason that it is both enormously desired and indescribably cherished. I, myself, treasure nothing more at the holidays, well beyond all of the tangibles shoved under the tree.
If you haven’t yet guessed what this classic present actually is, you will be kicking yourself when I reveal it. Both obvious and elusive, you won’t believe you didn’t think of it.
Are you ready?
The present that I am describing is “presence.”
There is no greater gift that you can give to another than presence — head, body, and heart. Can you think of anything else that speaks to how much you care? I don’t think so, especially now, when spending time with a loved one includes five others that he/she doesn’t know but is forced to include at the hands of rapid texting and split focus.
Yes, presence will prove to be the hardest gift that you could give this year. Yet it is the most craved and precious. Try giving it alongside (or even in lieu of) everything else and transform your holidays — if not your relationships — through a single, meaningful, intelligent and sensitive decision. I guarantee, “No one will be disappointed or request a return.”
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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Photo credit: iStockPhoto.com
