Start living life as if it were a gift

“If, as Herod, we fill our lives with things, and again with things; if we consider ourselves so unimportant that we must fill every moment of our lives with action, when will we have the time to make the long, slow journey across the desert as did the Magi? Or sit and watch the stars as did the shepherds? Or brood over the coming of the child as did Mary? For each one of us, there is a desert to travel. A star to discover. And a being within ourselves to bring to life.” Author Unknown. 

What’s not to love about receiving gifts? By now, you have probably received a few of your own, from colleagues, clients, friends and relatives. They may have come wrapped with shiny paper and ribbons or unwrapped and in plastic supermarket bags. They may be considered gifts, like a new release from a favourite author for the avid reader or thoughtless gifts, like the bottle of wine for the teetotaller.

You receive each one with anticipation, waiting to discover the magic within. Some times your expectations are exceeded. Some times, not so much. And when they are not, you tell yourself, “Oh well, it’s the thought that counts.”

Reminds me of a friend whose husband bought her a gift of a 60 inch flat screen TV just before the premier league. It was an early birthday present, he told her, even though she did not watch much TV. “He bought himself a TV for my birthday,” she laughed. But who among us is not guilty of buying something for someone that we ourselves like? Gift vouchers were probably invented to deal with this.

PLACE OF CONTEMPLATION

In the Christmas story, the wisemen came bearing some interesting gifts. Gold for a King, incense for worship and myrrh that is used in embalming. None of the Ben10, Barbie or Spiderman fare that we would gift a child today. What was interesting about these gifts is that they spoke to Jesus ministry and ultimately, his death.

The gifts spoke to who He was, what He was to do, and what our response to Him should be. They were considered, if odd, gifts. But ultimately, the greatest gift for humanity was His birth, and what it would offer us.

This Christmas it is easy to get lost in all the tinsel, the festive meals, the family and friend get-togethers and miss the point. It’s easy to be on the giving or receiving end of a gift and still not understand the significance of the season. Life, itself is a gift a gift from God and what we do with it is our gift back to God and humanity. A gift we must share thoughtfully, first understanding who we are, why we are here and what benefit our lives will provide to ourselves and others.

We do this best when we retreat from the noise of the season to a place of contemplation. When we understand like the shepherds, that the great miracles of our lives happen on regular days when we are minding our own business. We do this when we go on a journey of self discovery. And there’s no better time than when we contemplate the Christmas story and all it portends for us.

Sarah Ban Breathnach writes in Simple Abundance, “Perhaps the Christmas spirit is our souls knowledge that things, no matter how beautiful, are only things; that we were created not always to do, but sometimes simply to be. Perhaps the Christmas spirit is a loving reminder that we must make time for the long, slow journey across the desert; we must take time to discover our star.”

How differently would our lives be if we internalised the concept that we are the gift, we have purpose that is not just about acquiring things like Herod but giving our life meaning through living out purpose.

In your lifetime, you will receive and give out many gifts. May the greatest of them all, be who you became and what you accomplished with this one glorious, amazing life.

Merry Christmas