GIFTING

This lovely statue of the Buddha was in my back yard for me & others to enjoy. I made it a focal point in my garden. Not long after I moved to Gainesville, I was in a shop one day talking to someone about my garden. ( I don't remember if I mentioned wanting a buddha statue, which I did!) This young man walked up to me and said "I have a Buddha statue I'd like to give you! I'm moving and I'd like you to have it!" (It turns out, he was a friend of my son's but didn't know me!)

It wasn't just the Buddha statue itself that was so marvelous, it was his whole way of GIFTING it to me. He was gentle, open and with soft enthusiasm he offered me such a precious possession he'd enjoyed. It was such a sweet gift and a complete surprise, which can be such as surprise!

GIFTING a person or an organization or something, whether large or small in size and value is a very important gesture. There have been times someone GIFTED me with something and had an ATTITUDE of ugh, I really don't want to let this go! I have felt almost embarrassed receiving the gift because it wasn't freely given in a spirit of GIVING. 

I'm sure you all remember moving out of a home sometime when you knew you had to 'give away' belongings, to LET THEM GO! It was not easy bur necessary. There are usually 'sentimental' feelings attached to our things and we want to tuck them 'in the back' somewhere so they won't get in the way, an extra couch or table, perhaps. After wrestling with the 'letting go process', we usually settle down with what we have left, missing some items, of course.

GIFT giving is very different. It moves us to give from our true selves, from our heart so that we feel a connection to the person we're giving to in a special way. A part of us goes with the gift. Sometimes these 'gifts' have been used by us and so it means even more to share it, to give it to another.  We know how GIFTING makes us feel. We want to PAY ATTENTION to how the receiver feels.

I feel very strongly about this issue anytime, and it comes up for me especially at Christmas time. When people say ,"oh I have to buy  . . . something, I don't know what to get him/her!" Some 'gift'!

When this man GIFTED me this statue, I treasured it for twenty years. When I moved to the Village, I gifted it to my son with such pleasure and assuredness he would treasure it, which he has. It made me feel so happy and satisfied that I could do such a thing.

As I go about my life, I NOTICE how I GIVE anyone anything. I greet people as cheerfully as I can, look them in the eye and ask about them, however briefly. I always feel good when I do that, no matter what the response. It helps me have COMPASSION for myself if I slip up or don't get a response back. A win-win situation is the way I feel.

GIFTING is a privilege

To GIFT someone 

From our heart

With 'f'lowers'.

BLESSINGS