In this time of holiday cheer, I have been thinking a lot about “re-gifting.” No, not in the tempting sense of giving some unsuspecting soul that set of scented candles that Aunt Millie gave you two years ago that has never seen the light of day. The re-gifting I refer to is giving to others gifts that have been bestowed upon you, the gifts that you probably take for granted: the skills, talents, and preferences that you don’t think twice about. I am thinking about the qualities and traits that you probably overlook each day that others admire and wish they had, but that you take for granted.
The way I see it, we have each been given a plethora of gifts unique to us that make up the palette from which we have to choose. Alone, any one of our gifts or talents is shared by thousands or even millions of other people. For example, our ability to influence another’s mood by our facial expression is shared by every other human being on the planet. Yet I venture to say that your smile is such a unique gift that can warm people’s hearts and brighten their day. Not just any smile will do – your smile is the one they really want.
Most of us probably don’t think of ourselves as a combination of gifts. We talk about our “lucky breaks” and our “good fortune,” but to hear someone speak of their own talents as ‘gifts’ sounds a bit strange. Some might say it is boastful or even arrogant. To say ‘I have a great smile that can warm the hearts of total strangers’ is not something that comes up in conversation for most of us.
Rather, we are quick to point out our imperfections and faults. We focus on what we don’t have rather than on what we do have and who we are. Even if we did take the time to take a good, hard look at ourselves, most of us would be more apt to rebuff or devalue our gifts rather than acknowledge them and bask in the beauty of our uniqueness. Rather than be grateful and appreciate the richness of who we are, we magnify and focus on our faults and imperfections.
During this Season of Giving, I invite you to join me in a unique learning opportunity, a study in appreciation. I ask you to consider the old saying, “To those to whom much is given, much is expected”, and join me in an experiment. I invite you to learn to by doing…and by giving. Rather than hiding your treasures, the gifts you have been given, I ask that you remove your gifts from hiding and bring them out for the world, and for yourself, to see, and for purpose for which they were intended: to share with the world.
In the next few weeks, have the courage to take an inventory of the gifts you have been given. Take the time to be grateful for who you are, not because of your social status or your job title, your worldly possessions or your bank account, but for the offer you are in the world. Then choose just one gift you have been given and share it with someone.
Maybe it is a warm smile to a frowning stranger. Or replacing a typically sharp response to your significant other with a hug of compassion. It could be an offer to stay and help a struggling colleague, rather than rush out the door to beat the traffic. It could be reaching out with an encouraging word and a cup of coffee to an acquaintance who has just be laid off. It doesn’t have to be big. It just has to be real, and from the heart.
Just pick one – and re-gift away. If you want to really challenge yourself, and you really want to grow, do it again. Repeat it every day for a week. You may find it is contagious…and that you become a serial re-gifter!
We are each a unique combination of gifts to the world, each a wonderful masterpiece, complete, magnificent and absolutely perfect. And when we offer ourselves in the service of something greater than ourselves, for something or someone we care about, we celebrate and truly live. In using and sharing our gifts, others expand and thrive, we shine, and we make the world a better place.
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