The Act of Giving

Last night, in a conversation with my brother Dave, I discovered a little deeper understanding of the act of giving. He told me he's having trouble coming up with something to give to me and Brian in honour of our wedding. In the past weeks, he's asked mom and my other brother, Greg, about possibilities for a gift. All he got were limitations of what not to give related to the amount of space Brian and I will have in our car during our move across Canada in the coming weeks. This probably left him even more empty in his bucket of creative ideas. So, he asked me directly for anything I think Brian and I would like from him. I thought about this for a bit, and the first thing that came into my mind was a painting (David is an extraordinary artist in many modalities). A painting is something small and light that could fit into those physical limitations of the space containing the lives of Brian and Dee in the coming weeks.... But then my focus on physical dimensions became much wider, encompassing an alternative form of gift giving. How about something non-material? Something that has an emotional tone, a meaningful act? A gift from the heart. The following morning, I was writing in my journal about this act of giving, and it became clear to me just how many different ways there are to give: giving some-'thing' to someone brings on a whole new meaning. You must excuse me for a second while I savour my new found sense of gift giving as it has exploded into an endless array of opportunities - those encompassing both material objects and things you can't touch or see. Really, it all stems from my intention as a gift-giver, and for me this means using less of my brain-power to figure out what to give someone, and just listening to a warmer, deeper, more caring sense of who I am to let a gift intention to arise. This lead me to the thought that it is the act of giving that is important - that which comes entirely from the giver in whatever way they know how - and not necessarily what you receive, as your gift is their act of giving. More simply put, the act is more important than the gift itself. So, I'm going to remember this and thank people honestly and openly for their act of giving, regardless of what it is they are passing into our hands, whether it's a set of beer glasses, money, a warm gesture of affection in person, and even the simplicity of their presence at our event. It all means the same, the act just comes out of people in different ways depending on where they are at, and how they want to show you they care. And for that, I am grateful. [To give you, the reader, a better understanding of why I may appear so 'earthy' or 'new-agey' about all this: I just returned from a week-long yoga therapy training course in Bristol, Vermont, and whenever I do intensives like this, I return with a deeper awareness of pretty much everything. It's wonderful for me to explore things in this light.]