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Reading Room
The Five Best Gifts to Give Your Family
by: Margaret Paul, Ph.D.
When we think of giving gifts, we usually think of things to buy for people.
Yet if you think back on gifts you’ve been given, it might not be the material
gifts you received that are foremost in your mind – it might be the kind of
gifts that deeply touched your heart and soul. It might be various ways, other
than material things, that people expressed their love to you.
There are five gifts of love that we can give to our families that can make a
huge difference in their lives.
THE GIFT OF CARING AND COMPASSION
We all yearn to feel cared for, yet many of us withhold caring and compassion
for others. A profound gift we can give to our loved ones is to listen with our
heart, to understand and accept rather than to judge, and to stay open to
learning rather than to protect against being hurt.
Think about the last time someone actually listened to you and gave you
understanding and acceptance. The feeling of being understood and accepted with
caring and compassion is one of the best feelings in the world. Instead of
focusing on getting this from others, why not focus on giving it to others? You
might be surprised at how wonderful you feel in giving this gift to your family.
THE GIFT OF COURAGE
One of the best gifts we can give our loved ones is our own courage. This
means being having the courage to stand in our truth, to be honest about what we
want and don’t want, what we will do and won’t do, what is and what is not
acceptable to us. It means having the courage to take good care of ourselves,
even if others don’t like it. It means not succumbing to our controlling
behaviors that come from fear: anger, withdrawal, compliance, resistance, but
instead being honest and above-board about ourselves. It means being willing to
face conflict rather than give ourselves up to avoid it.
When we have the courage to face conflict and tell the truth, we not only
provide our family with a role model for courage, but we provide opportunities
for our loved ones to step up to the plate in the face of our truth and learn to
be courageous too.
THE GIFT OF SERVICE
We are on this planet to learn to love ourselves and each other, and to help
each other. One of the best gifts we can give our family is to role model this
by doing service. Helping others fills the heart and soul in ways that nothing
else can. If children do not see their parents doing service and helping others,
they may never learn the great joy and fulfillment that comes from giving. One
of the best gifts we can give to our family is to provide ways of doing service.
THE GIFT OF CREATIVITY
All of us are born with various ways of expressing our creativity. Expressing
creativity is a profound way of connecting with Spirit, since expressed
creativity is a direct expression of Spirit. Providing your family with many
ways of expressing their creativity is a great gift. Creativity can be expressed
in so many ways – cooking, crafts, building things, music, art, movement,
telling stories, writing, humor, photography and video – the possibilities are
endless! Creative family projects are especially wonderful in creating family
closeness.
THE GIFT OF LIGHTNESS OF BEING
Lightness of being – fun, joy, laughter, playfulness – is a great gift to
give to others. Lightness of being is infectious – our laughter and playfulness
can help others take life less seriously and “lighten up.”
Lightness of being is one the results of all the other gifts – of caring,
courage, service and creativity. When we give these gifts, we feel a wonderful
lightness within, the lightness that is the result of fully giving from the
heart. Our own lightness of being can bring lightness into our whole family.
Children love it when their parents are playful, funloving and joyful. Laughing
together as a family is one of the most precious experiences in life.
We need to focus of giving these gifts each day, not just during a holiday
season or special occasions. These gifts are far more important than any
material thing we can buy for someone. In fact, we might not be so focused on
material gifts if we frequently give the gift of love – of caring, compassion,
courage, service, creativity, and lightness of being.
See Also:
The Gift My Brother
Couldn't Give
The Best Birthday
Gift in the World
How to Buy a
Unique Gift
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gemstone
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Specialgifts.com Infocenter Home
Margaret Paul, Ph.D. is the best-selling author and co-author of eight books,
including "Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By You?" She is the co-creator of
a powerful healing process called Inner Bonding. Learn Inner Bonding now! Visit
her web site for a FREE Inner Bonding course:
http://www.innerbonding.com
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