The Season of Giving
That’s what people call December-the season of giving. I get it-lots of December holidays that traditionally involve an exchange of material goods with friends, family, co-workers and others. Gifts are nice, don’t get me wrong but I guess after a while the stuff gets to be too much. Know what I mean?
I’ve witnessed Christmas morning scenes that look like a group of hungry Tazmanian devils ripping into packages of raw meat. Wrapping paper flying, teeth gnashing, no one really taking notice of what’s in the boxes and then 10 minutes after the gifts have been given people have promptly forgotten them. Or they’ve started talking about the other things they want that they didn’t get. Or they complain that XYZ item doesn’t work like they thought it should. Well that’s because it was made in a developing nation probably by someone making a couple dollars to crank out hundreds of XYZs that day. But I digress….
This might sound like some sort of liberal-anti-consumerism-hippie-dippy-do ranting about Capitalism and how everyone should ask Santa for world peace instead of Wii but I promise you it’s not (not entirely anyways). My main thought about giving (whether it be the season for it or not) is that not only do I wish for world peace but also for all of us to take a moment and consider not only the recipient of our gifts but also the sources and impacts.
When we give gifts, rarely is the recipient thinking about what we spent on them. Most of the time they are thinking about the time we put into thinking of this gift that has meaning and significance (small or large). As a 30-something business owner who spent almost a decade in the corporate world making decent money, I find that there are few material things that I really desire. Sure I like cute clothes and shoes as much as the next person but those aren’t the things that really get me going. For me it’s experiences! I like food (duh), drinking (double duh), travelling, shows, memory creators! Now I swear I’m not writing this in any way to pressure any of you readers to get me something for Christmas (or am I?) but instead to say that I think a lot of people out there are like me!
The nice thing about consumable gifts (food, drink, tickets to performances, etc) is that they are typically available for a variety of prices (handmade caramels for $6 or a weekend in New York for $1000 and everything in between) and they are, well, consumable! With all of the waste that has already been created in our world, could we consider giving some gifts that don’t create it? Of course there are some beautifully crafted items made from recycled or eco-friendly materials (clothes, furniture, jewelry) which can be lovely and thoughtful too!
What’s my point here? I suppose it is that when giving a gift try to imagine the 3-dimensional-ness of the gift. Could part of the gift you give be the story behind it (an artisan producer, a socially conscious restaurant, the support of an independent business, band or theater company) or the memories it will help create? Could it be a donation to an organization about which your recipient is very passionate? I think it can and I think that the person to whom you give this thoughtful gift will love you (or like you if that’s what you’re going for) even more for your efforts. Less waste. More thought. The Holiday Hippie has spoken.
December 15th, 2010 No Comments posted in Uncategorized
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