the gift of giving

At no other time of the year than in December many people are rediscovering their gift of giving. For a spiritual person living in a materialistic world "giving" can become a bit troubling. Giving can create attachment and we are supposed to learn how to let go and help others to do the same.

Giving involves so much more than the act of choosing and wrapping up the gift. Those who have the gift of giving take great care to offer gifts that will help others to grow spiritually. Gifted givers take time to understand the emotional or spiritual needs of those whom they wish to present with a gift.

Gifted givers know that they can offer more than just a nicely wrapped packages. They offer their time, offer guidance or their abilities and wisdom. They offer gifts that have more meaning than the material value that can be measured in any currency.

But every year an interesting phenomenon is occurring everywhere during the Holiday Season. People recycle gifts they received from someone else. They are letting go. Unfortunately the "recycled" gifts are, more often than not, the unwanted "awful" things they received last Christmas from people who probably "recycled" them as well. This is sad.

I am not in a position to judge anyone and do not even intend to, but I personally prefer to "recycle" something that is dear to me. Letting go of something that I like very much is not a small challenge to the ego, but I know that at some point all of us will have to leave behind all that we cherish and proudly cling to.

So maybe this year instead of buying a spiritual book for your friend you could give him your favorite book from your own library. If your favorite book helped you grow at some point of your life, you do not need it anymore. Pass it on and allow others to experience its healing power.

This idea is not really mine. It came few years ago from a fellow passenger on an intercontinental flight. He was reading a small book and I was intrigued by its title "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time." He told me that someone has given him this book to read with one condition attached to it. He was to read it and pass it on. When he finished reading he gave it to me with this one request - to pass it on when I was done. As much as I wanted to keep this amazing little book for myself I decided to follow his request and continue the small tradition that was set up by the person who first bought that book. I read it and gave it to a friend hoping that he would pass it on to someone else. I have no idea where this book might be now and how many people read it, but I am sure that everyone who read it was touched by its story as much as he was touched by the story of the boy in this book.

You can start your own small tradition today and give a gift that would inspire others to do the same. Give a book or a mala and see what happens next.

By Dominique Allmon

Dominique Allmon@2013

Image source here

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