Gifts

I gave away an earring set to a woman I picked up as she was walking in the rain, hitching a ride. The earrings looked better on the stranger in my vehicle, so I gave them to her. My Friend-of-Many-Years made the ear jewelry especially for me. As I divulged the story, she seemed a little surprised but not upset. She then said she would make me another pair but that I must keep them.

After dropping the hitchhiker off, I began to 'analyze' what just occurred. When I give a gift, I freely let it go. It now belongs to another, for them to do with as they wish. Long ago, when my sons were small and others gave them a gift, I let them enjoy it. The toys often ended up lost, broken, given away, traded or forgotten, although sometimes cherished. A few of the people who gave the gift would be miffed that "their gift' was no longer around and wondered why I hadn't done something about it. My answer was always that it belonged to them and that they would be responsible for looking after it~or not.

For me, to cling to stuff as important because someone else gifted it to me, becomes a burden, one I am unwilling to carry. Too much of my own stuff drowns me and I lose perspective on what my life is truly about. So, if you plan to give me a gift, be prepared for me gifting it to another ~ who may want it more than I.