Monday Musings Thirty: The Best Gifts Cannot be Bought

The Best Gifts Cannot be Bought

As today’s post will be the last one before Christmas, what better time to talk about giving? For many of us, frenzied Christmas shopping and wrapping have filled recent days and weeks. For me, it feels important to remember what the spirit of the season is all about.

In Monday Musings Seven—No Strings—we looked at giving and not being attached once we’ve gifted something to another. Today, I’d like to consider the nature of gifts and what holds the most importance.

In my experience, the greatest gift that I could give or receive is time. And by this, I don’t mean having more hours in a day. Rather, that a friend, family member, or whoever I need right now, can give me their time. And that if someone needs it from me, I can give it too. When you give your time, you give a period of your life that you will never get back. What greater gift can there be? And, in the nature of No Strings, who’s counting?

Christmas isn’t always a time of joy and making merry. For some, it is a time to dread. A time of aloneness and isolation. At such times, what we need most is for a fellow human being to offer us their time. Their attention. Their care.

Recently, while searching for an inspirational gift to email to someone who loves inspirational quotes, I came across a list of Christmas Gift Suggestions. I love them so much that I share them here with you:

To your enemy, forgiveness.