I was at a shopping centre recently and as I strolled through Myers beautiful Christmas hut adorned with lights and trinkets and beautifully presented gift boxes, I was distracted from the sparkling display by two women who were arguing about having to buy Christmas gifts for their extended families!
Firstly, I had a slight panic attack because I had only JUST realised that we were already in November ( I must have missed the pinch and a punch, it’s the first of the month thing that we all normally do) and we were now fast approaching another Christmas period and secondly, I remembered that it was approaching the one year anniversary of my beautiful dad’s passing. He died on November 14th last year. Remembering my father’s incredible, kind and generous spirit has inspired this article.
For those of you who are already thinking about the festive season that is fast approaching and if you are already creating your Christmas Gift List, I have created my own Gift giving ideas that I hope will inspire you to give from the heart this year.
My beautiful dad’s philosophy was this –
The secret to a life that is absolutely full of happiness does not depend on material wealth or grand, overwhelming achievements.The secret to happiness really lies in our willingness to give from the heart.
So, with that in mind, I hope my gift ideas that are not only suitable for Christmas but any occasion (actually, you dont even need an occassion) inspire you today to take a slightly different approach to gift giving this year.
Gifts of Time
One of the greatest gifts that you can ever give someone is – Your time.
Why? Because when you give freely and generously of your time, you are actually giving a part of your life that you will never get back and time is your most precious commodity. Most people nowadays struggle to find extra time so we have to make the time for what is most important to us. If you wait for a space in your busy schedule, you may be waiting for ever so it is important to deliberately and intentionally create time to spend with the people we love, or those that may need support. In these gifts of time – be all there.
Gifts of Compassion
Not only does being compassionate change the world’s energy, it also has the power to change YOUR energy. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.” Being truly compassionate takes real effort. When someone is struggling, it is easy to judge and interject with your opinions. Compassion requires you to listen, and I mean really listen whilst seeing the whole person. Suffering is universal and each and everyone of us has experienced pain, loss, grief or struggle of some sort. Compassion is a gift that can ease a broken heart and lift someones spirits and at its heart, compassion is about paying attention to the present moment with a loving attitude.
Gifts of Kindness
As we embrace new ways to give gifts from the heart, think about a gesture of kindness you can make to someone you love or care for or why not just give a random gift of kindness to a complete stranger. A gift of kindness can bring about the greatest positive impact on a person’s spirit so spread good energy and give the gift of kindness. Make a positive impact on someone elses life today. Write notes of appreciation, bake treats for someone, volunteer this Christmas. There are so many ways to be kind. The universe is constantly presenting you with opportunities to be kind. Are you responding?
Gifts of Service
Let’s face it. The festive season is a wonderful time for most of us, but this time of the year can be overwhelming for families or individuals who are struggling or in need. We all have something to give. So consider – if you are warm, safe, have food on the table, are surrounded by loved ones, well then you are really blessed. Seek out those who arent so lucky and share the love.
Gifts of Experiences
As most of you know, I wrote a book about creating a rich life with less stuff called – “The Shed.” We all have so much stuff now, we are drowning in it. So forgo the physical gifts and instead gift amazing experiences that will become wonderful memories. For example – gift your loved one a special date night together,a painting or cooking class together, clean and organize someones house who is overwhelmed, create a playlist of someones most favourite songs, build or create something together…use your imagination!! Shared experiences create bonds that’ll trump the gift of stuff any day of the week so think – instead of gifting stuff, gift experiences that will become memories.
Wishing you wellness always…
Jo Ettles