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Give the Gift of Yourself this Holiday Season
PS: Love is what is all about — not things
Every year, about two days before Christmas, I experience something I am not particularly proud of.
Thinking about the gifts I’ve bought for my family, I get the feeling that I don’t have enough for them. This feeling has almost nothing to do with how many gifts I’ve bought or how “good” the gifts are.
Beyond the quantity and quality of my offerings is the sense that my efforts to express my love for them is lame and doesn’t really measure up to how I feel — and that, somehow, they will be disappointed.
Indeed, there have been some nights before Christmas where I’ve left the cozy warmth of my home to return to the mall, looking for the perfect gift. It’s humbling to witness this kind of behavior in me. And it’s humbling to admit it. But it’s also healing.
In time, with some reflection and a deeper dive into selfhood, I’ve come to realize that it’s not about fixing my flaws, patching up the quirks in my personality, or compensating for some imagined black hole.
It’s about love and giving the very of myself to others.
