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WHAT ARE GIFTS?
by Kimberley Davis, BA Eng. (Hons)
I guess that you could say that a gift is anything given to you by someone that you love, or, anything that you give to someone that you love. Gifts can be both material and spiritual, but what is important is the fact that they are given. We give and receive all kinds of 'gifts' everyday. Most of them we are aware of, but sometimes we can receive gifts without realising that we are. Likewise, often we give to others without realising the value of what we are sharing. The special and rare gifts that we are lucky enough to receive throughout our lives are the ones that stay in our memories. Many times these gifts evoke treasured memories in the recipient's past at the same time as becoming treasured memories themselves.
Special gifts are much more than a price tag, or a label, or an obligation. Special gifts mean something to the person who receives them, something that is unique to that person. Awhile ago my Mum gave me a box of maple walnut porridge to take away with me to University. Far from being simply food for a hungry student, this porridge was a gift that meant something to the both of us. To be specific, it meant eating apple crumble with maple walnut topping while on holiday in Canada. This gift was more than a token gesture. It evoked in both of us a treasured memory, a memory that we shared that we could revive through the porridge. Who could have thought that something as simple as porridge could carry so much meaning and value? The fact I have not actually used the porridge is beside the point. What matters is how special such a simple gift was to me, and how it continues to delight me when I look in my cupboard and see the box sitting there, prompting many fond memories.
We give gifts to the people that we love to remind them that we care. We give them gifts that we know, or hope, are personal and individual. A lot of the time our gifts evoke shared and treasured memories pertaining to our relationship with the person to whom we are giving. In the best of cases, the gifts we give become treasured memories themselves. It means so much when someone gives you something that shows they truly care for you, listen to you, know and love who you are. It is hard to forget a truly special and thoughtful gift. Once again the memorability of a gift is not indexed to its price, or its size, or its timing (for instance a birthday). Gifts can be as simple as homemade cards, or hand picked flowers, or home baked cookies and be one hundred times more memorable than expensive but generic perfume, or copious amounts of gifts. What makes gifts memorable is the fact that they are an expression of love, acceptance and celebration of the people that you are close to.
Giving is about giving, as much as it is about receiving. It is good to give gifts. It makes us feel good to be doing things for other people and to be thinking of ways that we can show them that we care. It is also exciting when you find exactly the gift that perfectly suits the person to whom you are giving it! Nothing is better than knowing you have found something that is truly a reflection of what you love in that person, or what you love about the relationship that you have with them. Nothing is better than sharing memories with someone, giving them something that will remind them of past times, and in turn giving them a new fond memory in the very gift itself. Fond memories are truly treasures. They build our lives. They remind us of good times in the past, and help us through the not so good times by reminding us that things have been and will be better. Treasured memories reassure us that we are loved, and that we love.
Give gifts that celebrate special memories. Ask those that you care for about their fondest memories, and talk with them about those memories that you share. Absorb the love that these memories contain and emanate.
Keep the cycle going by continuing to share and give and create new memories to treasure.
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