Let’s define “gift” in terms of an unconditional act or representation of respect and love for a living being or beings from another or others without expectation of something or some act in return.
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Time flies…or is it that we forget to cherish moments as they come and go? There are moments when time stands still, when the heavens open up into eternal moments of transcendent love…but it takes an intentional effort to recognize moments as such. Life is a real gift – something that should mean something – and yet we embody a take-for-granted attitude throughout our lives (especially when we are young and feel invincible) that renders our lives an ephemeral aberration, thinking about immediate satisfaction and self-preservation, rather than about what gift-living is all about. We are because we were gifted with life. What do we do with what we are given? The stories vary. What should we do with what we are given? Perhaps we ourselves should give and give until our lives are extinguished and we give back what was initially given.
As Christmas ends for the season, I have iterated and reiterated to the children I teach during the week that Christmas is about giving rather than getting – a familiar phrase to many which sounds simple enough. But our culture is so “capitalized” and “democratized” and “evolutionized” that these very culturally created ideas underlie our epistemology, our conversations without our awareness of them – clandestine walls that limit thought and action. Some preach giving while culture and others preach taking. Who do we believe? Might I suggest that reality, that a meaningful life, is a gift-giving life rather than a gift-taking life.
Why do we admire figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Ghandi, Jesus, Muhammad, Mother Teresa, Buddha, William Wilberforce, and many others? Do we admire people or remember people and respect people for what they take or what they give? Do our possessions, things that we have taken or been given render our lives more meaning that the things and actions we give to others?
As a New Year’s resolution, may we all see through this lens: life as a gift. Discover meaning in every moment that is given to you and share yourself and your gifts with the world expecting nothing in return. When it comes time for you to give your life back,, even though this is very idealistic, may the world remember you as a giver of life rather than a taker.
On that note, I encourage you to see Avatar in movie theaters.
