The Power of Gifts

Hello Friends,

I think a lot about gifts, generosity, and what it means to be in relationship. I’m always talking with my clients about relationships, and by that, I mean…life. Relationship is not just about friendship, family, or romance.

We are in relationship to the planet. To the stars. To our jobs. To our desires, dreams, and plans. We are in relationship with our spiritual practice. With trees. Animals. Insects. With a cup of water and a splash of sun.

Unfortunately, in many of our societies, these relationships become transactional: what can that forest do for me? How can that river make me money? If I offer a friend a gift, what will they give me in return?

So, I wrote an essay about it, inspired by an interaction with some neighborhood crows, and a small gift dropped from a tree.

Here’s a segment:

We all give to the world, in some way or another. We give time. Thought. Emotional support. Labor. Laughter. Tears. Money. Encouragement.

Some of us give too little. Others of us just may give too much.

I used to ask my clients and students to assess whether a project or relationship overall fed, drained, or ate their energy. Sure, we all get tired sometimes, or things feel like a challenge or a slog. But overall? We need to feel fed. If a project or relationship overall drains or eats our energy? It is neither healthy nor sustainable, and can lead to burnout or resentment.

But what is that exchange? What does being fed feel like? Does it mean a constant tallying of output vs input? Does it mean score keeping of who puts in the most effort and who takes out the most?

Well… sometimes that might be necessary. But not everything in life is transactional. As a matter of fact: the less transactional life becomes, the more liberating life can feel.

Please read the rest here: On Crows and Other Gifts.

best wishes - Thorn

Like cats in your fiction? Bookshop Witch is part of a charming multi-book cat themed bundle that benefits Able Gamers Foundation. Pay what you can for up to ten books and support a great cause: Cattitude Storybundle. The bundle is only available through the next nineteen days.