The Best Christmas Gift

The busyness created out of the chaos involved in getting ready for Christmas completely defeats the reason for this holiday season. The activities, traditions and preparations for Christmas can fill our schedules but can also fracture our physical, emotional and spiritual life. We can easily get caught into the marketing web of Christmas, trying to avoid social guilt and pressures forcing us to become compulsive consumers. There is a gift option that goes against everything that we are used to. This Christmas gift is not sold at the mall, online or at any other retail center.This gift option is for those that don't want to participate in the usual marketing strategy called "reviving the economy through consumption". The best Christmas gift you can give to those you love is simple, it's free and it's called TIME. Time is not sold anywhere, you cannot buy more of it, you cannot trade it, you can only gift it. In fact, the more you gift, the less you will have but it will help you grow your relationships to a brand new level. This gift is something that nobody can monopolize and claim to have full control of but we are willingly letting our culture and society rip it away from us, keeping us busy and distracted from the things that matter and I am consciously guilty of that.

Time is the most precious, irreplaceable commodity we own and we always seek to do more things in the least amount of time possible. We have commoditized time, trying to do more things, more activities, filling up our schedules in a race towards the maximum productivity, exchanging our valuable time for money, for things to do. We spend time buying gifts, attending parties,setting up decorations, preparing food, following traditions, focusing on what to wear and other pointless activities that have nothing to do with the real reason for this season, keeping us busy and without being able to slow down. Don't miss being with your loved ones this Christmas even when you attend the gatherings.We often show up but we are logged off, we are busy or sometimes we just do nothing and forget the most important gift exchange of time, building tighter relationships with those we love.

This Christmas, I encourage you to put together the most important gift list you have ever created. A list of individuals that you want to gift them with your time. List the names of those that matter to you and gift instead of buying them a present, gift them with your time and get to know them and let them get to know you better. Spend some time with your mother, your father, your sister(s), your brother(s) or any other family member, friend or loved one and make it worthwhile. Perhaps you are often quiet and don't say much, I can be guilty of that but let's try something different. Allow those around you, those that love you to just sit down with you to share and to listen. Give the person your are with full attention, focus on what they are telling you rather than your reaction or response to what is being said. Remember, the most important thing about communication is not what is said but what is heard. Open yourself up and interact with people, talk about things beyond the normal casual conversations. If you are a business person, gift your time in full and avoid talking business for a few days or at least with those that appreciate you for who you are and not for your success. Life is too short to not get to know the ones you love or for those that love you to get to know you. Money comes and goes, urgent tasks that don't get done today will always have a tomorrow but the important things in life are priceless. Important people that we have around today may not be here tomorrow and if we don't gift them our time wisely today, we will not have their memories tomorrow.


Luis Daniel Roque