The Fleeting Gift of Time
by Scott Lebin
Insights
The best gift we can give is a gift of time
14  KaneNeighbors.com
M
ilestones in our lives are celebrated on birthdays, graduations, weddings, anniversaries. We also remember special religious and national holidays because our family and community celebrate these days by bringing us all together as a group. These moments unite us with family, friends, neighbors, and those people who are important in our lives. It is also during some of these occasions that we give gifts to honor and support significant life achievements. It has been suggested that a system could be established in the giving of gifts: one gift that is something that is wanted, one gift of something that is needed, one item of clothing, and something to read that can lead to a purposeful life. This avoids the tendency to fill a room with so many gifts that children or adults become overwhelmed with so many “things� that most of them will have minimal impact and might lose the appreciation for whatever is received. Quantity of
gifts does not equate to appreciation, satisfaction, or happiness. Many of those items will be forgotten quickly and some will be just a waste of money. In a life that is filled with activity and busy schedules, the best gift we can give is a gift of time. During childhood, the memories that mean the most are the special times spent with family and friends. These times include many activities that might not even cost much money. A visit to the beach, sledding down hills, families gathered together at holiday events are examples of moments that create memories that last a lifetime. There are gifts that we were given in childhood that are long gone and have little influence as part of our current memories of childhood. Some special gifts we might remember because of the impact the gift had at a special moment in our lives. Our first bike or our first American Girl Doll or our first automobile are such items that are imbedded in our long-term memories. TriCities Magazine
