The Art of Giving

Call me crazy, but I have always loved collecting gift wrappers or packing papers. I have a drawer full of them. Why would I collect packing papers instead of something more normal like coins or stamps?? Because I am a gift wrap hoarder and it is not something I am proud of. Then again, maybe it is. What do I do with collected packing papers? I use it to wrap a gift for someone else.

To be honest, in my younger days I did so, only because the sole purpose of gifts attracted me. The idea of birthdays amused me, for obvious presents. But somewhere along the way, I learnt that giving is much more satisfying than receiving. It is the genuine feeling that you put a smile on someone’s face, you made someone’s day better; that is much greater than receiving anything in return.

And where has it been written in any book of the world that a gift needs to be expensive or classy? After all, it is the feeling that counts. I do not know how much money I have wasted upon greeting cards and frankly it makes me cringe remembering so, because they are going to be useless anyway.

But here is the thing; is material happiness the only thing that you could give someone? No. the greatest thing you could give someone is your time. Because that is something that is never coming back; that is something that can never be bought and that is something that can never be recreated.