GOING GODDESS™

Gift giving has become the heart of our Christmas holiday, with love and faith retreating to the fringes. In the next few weeks, millions of people will scuffle through the cold, traffic, stress, and paltry budgets to join in the merry making traditions they've become accustomed to carrying this time of year. Some will cautiously pick and peck through the gift selection process, while others recklessly grab and go. Most will travel from place to place, digging and searching through mounds of decorative packing supplies for the perfect gift wrap to dress up their presents, even if wrapping presents is a futile deed. People get their gifts, tear off the paper, crush the box, and throw away the ribbons, quickly moving on to the next present. When it's all done and gone, the packaging won't be remembered. Frequently, the givers are not remembered in this gift giving exchange either. What happened to the spirit of Christmas, the attitude of gratitude?

If we ponder the deeper aspects of gifts, presents, and packages, we can see how it relates to us as individual human beings. The gift is the actual substance or 'soul' in this process and is chosen by a giver or benefactor. It is usually a special selection, matched or designed for a particular person. The package is the outer wrapping, chosen to contain, carry, and obscure the gift inside. In a similar manner, the human being is comprised of a substance or 'soul' which is contained inside of a specially designed package (the body). The soul is the gift or gifts the individual possesses is selected by a divine benefactor, and it is obscured by its external appearance. It exists and experiences life in the 'now' and is called a 'present' because it allows an individual to be present in his or her lifetime. Just like a gift package is damaged during the opening of the gift, we are also damaged by life's processes and experiences as we unfold to reveal our true inner selves. In the end, our package will be torn off, crushed, and trashed before our souls are totally set free. The soul is the part that lives on; it is the substance of your life that will be remembered. The package is only a dressing for the main course, a fringe benefit to seal the real deal.

When your life is done and gone, what do you want to be remembered for? Your substance or your package? Do you appreciate the gifts and talents you've been given in this lifetime? Are you remembering and honoring your divine benefactor?

As you move closer to your end, begin each moment with an attitude of gratitude. Give thanks for your being, the nowness, and your soul. Cherish the natural gifts you possess and appreciate the talents of others. Bring back love and faith to the heart of your existence, and allow the exchange of these spiritual gifts to be the main focus of your gifting choices. Push back the superficial and bring forward the hidden treasures of your soul. "You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body."-C.S. Lewis