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Gift Advice
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| Yes | 88% | 726 votes | Total: 822 votes | |
| No | 12% | 96 votes |
Yes
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Add to FavoritesIf done in the right spirit, giving and receiving are one and the same. This concept becomes clear if you recall as a child how very proud you were to give mom or dad a gift that you made in school. Remember the joy you felt at just the knowing that your gift brought them happiness.
All too often, as we grow, the art of giving is lost as greed, other motives and competition take over. The meaning of Christmas, birthdays, friendships and relationships are buried and hidden in materialism. We do live in a very material world. We can't expect to change the world but we can do ourselves and those around us a favor by keeping our own motives in check.
The next time you are buying a gift for someone,pause and consider if the gift is coming from your heart or do you have expectations? It is very easy to just assume that we are buying for the right reasons when subconsciously we do have hidden motives. Are we spending more than we can afford in hopes to impress the other person or because that person spent more on us last time and we feel we "should"? Sometimes, we hope that person will care more about us.
Sometimes we mistake "gifts" for a sign of how much a person loves us. Consider the woman who gets upset when her husband forgets her birthday or anniversary. By examining the cause of her upset, most often she will find that she is upset not because of the absence of a gift but more because she was equating his love with material gifts.
I had an aunt who clearly demonstrated that giving and receiving are both one and the same.
By no means, a poor woman, this lady would often dress in rags. She was a model and an actress but oh so much more than that. As a little girl, I used to wonder why she was often out in the cold without a coat or would be wearing socks for mittens...unmatched ones at that.
My mother often complained that no matter what they bought her for gifts,she just gave it away. She would often say she was tempted to stop buying her gifts altogether.
As I grew and spent more and more time with my aunt, I came to understand what my mother never seemed to be able to. Walking through town with her on a bitter cold day, I watched her pull off a pair of beautiful gloves and give them a poor lady that had none. Out of her pockets came the socks. A while later, she gave her beautiful coat to a young lady whose coat was in tatters. Another time, she took apart a beautiful and very expensive stage dress and had it altered to fit a girl who could not afford a prom dress. Most of the people she did these things for did not know her personally at all. I guarantee you that she touched their lives and in doing so enriched her own. In my 51 years on this earth, she was probably one of the happiest people I have ever met. She passed away last year. She had absolutely no material wealth stashed away and many would think she died a very poor woman when in fact she was anything but.
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No
One is no greater than the other, as they both work hand in hand, together. One complements the other in the ongoing, intricate process of evolution. Giving and receiving are laws of nature. The sun gives light to the earth, the earth receives it and gives back in a varying mix of plants, flowers, trees, shrubs, and grasses. The trees and shrubs, plants and flowers, thankful for receiving sunlight, give forth fruit and beautiful flowering foliage. Giving and receiving then are natural processes and one depends on the other. "The universe operates through dynamic exchange. Giving and receiving are different aspects of the flow of energy in the universe. And, in our willingness to give that which we seek, we keep the abundance of the universe circulating in our lives." (Deepak Chopra)
Giving and receiving are easy, from a mere smile to a major material gesture. What is it to give. Giving is done with a free heart and spirit. Giving is an instrument of peace, receiving is the same. Giving is a way of pardon, receiving is the same. Giving denies hate, receiving does the same. Giving sows love, receiving does the same. Giving eases injury, receiving does the same. Giving uplifts despair, receiving does the same. Giving offers a glimmer of hope, receiving does the same. Giving turns darkness into light. Giving brings joy. To avoid, deny, or to leave out any one of the dynamics of giving and receiving is to deny nature it's intent to evolve and transform. If man follows his nature rather than his mentality, he will not hunger in need, he will rejoice, content in all things, giving in faith knowing that he will naturally get back what he puts out. He will give and he will receive. He will be in tune with his natural instinct, understanding that "The rich man's wealth is his strong city; the destruction of the poor is their poverty." (Proverbs)
A closed, selfish hand not only blocks receiving but also stops the flow of energy, the process of giving. If a person only cares to gain, s/he is one who leaves another in need. Typically greedy people, those unwilling to give a portion of what they receive, bring trouble into their own households. Proverbs say, "A poor man who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain which leaves no food."
It is imperative that we teach our children that giving and receiving is a lifetime investment. Even though some equate giving to promoting benevolence, it is an altruistic way of attending the social needs of the poor, suffering hunger and pain. Giving and receiving are ways to lift any spirit in any environment. We must increase our own understanding, teaching the laws of nature and the surreal benefits of giving and receiving, both intended to promote good and improve human quality of life. "It is the intention behind your giving and receiving that is the most important thing. The intention should always be to create happiness for the giver and receiver, because happiness is life-supporting and life-sustaining and therefore generates increase. The return is directly proportional to the giving when it is unconditional and from the heart." (Deepak Chopra)
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