subject: Christmas and Giving: It's Your Nature to Be Giving - The Little Prince Series [print this page] Christmas and Giving: It's Your Nature to Be Giving - The Little Prince Series
Daily Spiritual Insight from the Story ofThe Little Prince
When Victor came downstairs to breakfast expecting to find a Christmas gift waiting for him under the tree, he was surprised to find only a card. He looked at his wife, a puzzled expression on his face. "Where's my gift?"
"I didn't get you one," Trish said innocently. "You always get mad and say it's the wrong thing and you wish I hadn't bought it. Just a few weeks ago when I asked you what you wanted, you said not to bother."
"You didn't get me anything? I can't believe this. It's Christmas and my wife doesn't give me a gift?"
"But you said not to."
"That doesn't mean I don'twant one. Obviously I want a gift for Christmas!"
"I . . . I'm sorry," Trish stammered, her cheeks flushing as she suddenly became aware of the mistake she'd made by taking her husband literally. "I really thought you didn't want anything. I thought you'd be angry if I spent the money since we are so tight financially right now."
"You must be a moron!" Victor yelled. "I can't believe I married such an idiot!"
Trish, who feels as though she's forever walking on eggshells, burst into tears. "I'm so sorry," she sobbed, "I'll go buy you something tomorrow."
"I don't want anything now," Victor sulked. "I thought you cared about me."
To Victor, a Christmas gift is an evaluation of his wife's love for him.
Rather than gifts being an opportunity for people to express themselves, many see them as a sort of scorecard.
If you spend too little, you obviously don't love the person enough. If you spend too much, you don't care enough about the family budget.
If you don't guess just the gift the person wants, you don't really "understand" them.
When giving is an obligation, you can't find joy in it.
Neither can the recipient enjoy what you select if they see it asa statement of their value, rather than asan avenue for you to express yourself.
As long as gifts are given out of obligation, or used as a yardstick of worth or love, they bless neither the giver nor the recipient.
Karen's fiance Christopher bought her a necklace for Christmas. It wasn't terribly expensive, but he thought it was attractive.
When Christopher presented Karen with the necklace, she shoved it back at him. "I don't want some cheap necklace," she screamed. "If you're going to give me jewelry, I expect a piece I can show off to everyone!"
So many people at the holiday season manifest the self-centeredness of the king the Little Prince encounters on the first asteroid he visits after leaving his home. The king is all about fulfilling his own egoic needs, which is so often what gifts in the festive season revolve around.
Can we recognize in ourselves, far deeper than the selfish genes that drive survival of the fittest, a generous nature? Can we recognize that the self-centeredness mirrored for us by the image of the king isn't what we arereally like at our core?
Are we aware that at the heart of our being, we are one with the mysterious heart of the universe, whose generosity has birthed a hundred billion galaxies?
Do we see our giving this holiday season as an obligation, or as a participation in this sacred mystery of expressing the loving being that we are?
All of life is a gift, and giving is an intuitive response to the gift ofbeing that has been given to us.
When giving is an expression of how we have been gifted, and therefore of who weare, it becomes truly a blessing.
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