A precious gift

Receiving gifts:

I was in 6th class when I received a gift from my school friend. It was the first one I could remember receiving from someone who wasn’t family. It was a flip-it greeting card with “Best friends forever” written inside. I had felt very happy that day. I remember giving him the similar type of flip-it greeting card the next year on his birthday. He too seemed happy receiving it. We were together from 4th to 10th class. We were best friends. Time separated us and we are no longer in contact. The next gift I received was from my dear cousin. It was a pair of brown shaded sunglasses. I had received it when I was doing my bachelors.

The next gift I received was the special one. It wasn’t a birthday gift. It was a gift for being a nice friend to three beautiful friend girls I had managed to make at the end of my bachelors. It was surprising for me. I was so grateful to them for showing such a kind gesture. It was a nice leather wallet. The next gift I received was from four friend girls during my Masters. It was a tiny God Ganesha’s idol. Then it was a holy thread, a coffee mug and a letter from my girlfriend.

For me, every gift, whether materialistic or non materialistic was valuable. Whenever I have received any, I have accepted it with a whole heart. I still have all those gifts kept in my cupboard as well as in memory and heart with love.

Giving gifts:

I never developed a great interest in receiving gifts though. I had never expected to receive any and I still don’t. But, somehow this gifting thing had touched my heart, to the extent that I wanted to give gifts to my loved ones for no reason. It was during my bachelors I developed an interest in giving gifts. But, I was never into gifting thing and especially the materialistic gifts. I wanted to give better and unforgettable gifts to them. I wanted to show my love and feelings for them. As expected, I found it difficult to come up with any ideas. I ended up following the trend and gifted them chocolates. Then I tried to give them what they love, like one of my friend used to keep a personal diary so I gifted a diary to her. Idea was simple, give them something that makes them happy. It worked. The gifts made them happy.

However, I used to think that the gifts I was giving were not unforgettable and they won’t last long in the receivers’ memories. By that time, I had become more mature than before and have realised what makes a gift unforgettable. I thought putting an effort is the way to go.

I chose words. I thought they would make a great gifts. So, I started writing poems and articles for my loved ones. I used to put all my feelings and love into my writings. Most of them liked my idea and appreciated the gifts I gave to them. But still, I was not satisfied with my ideas. I tried different ideas and gave gifts. They all liked what I did and appreciated my efforts but I doubt for how long they remembered my gifts.

The most precious gift:

Today, being more matured that yesterday, I finally have found the greatest gift I can give to someone. It is my time and attention. Yes, you heard it right. No gift in the world is as precious as the time.

Throughout my life, I have received a precious gift of time from my loved ones including my family and friends, colleagues and well-wishers and even strangers. Realising the importance of time now, when I look back into the past, I see how carelessly I have utilised it. I realised that there were days I gave this precious gift to people who hardly cared for me, who never valued my gift and were not willing to offer me a return gift. When it comes to a precious gift like time, you got to realise that you have a limited stock and you should not waste it on people who don’t deserve it. Yes, it sounds selfish but there is no running away from the truth. Wise people knows how precious their time is. In fact they don’t waste a single minute on people unaware of its value. If you keep giving this precious gift of time to people who don’t value it, you will fall short when it will come to returning gift of time to someone who already has given theirs to you. Returning a precious gift becomes important because without that your relationships won’t survive long. Everyone craves for this precious gift of time and attention but won’t tell you on the face. It takes loving heart to know who is hoping to receive a precious gift of time from you.

I would take this opportunity to thank my dear friend Rushi who stood by me during my bad times and made sure I laugh a lot. I appreciate every minute he spent with me, especially during last three months when I was on bed and recovering from an injury. He has been there for more than ten years now and I know we will be there for each other lifelong. I would also like to thank my dear friend Rose who is tolerating my nonsense talks on phone. She has been a great listener for years and playing a role of my go-to person till now. She is a fun to be with. She makes sure I don’t feel lonely at times.

To Rose: Thank you so much Rose for being there. You owe me other gifts too but as of now I am happy for you giving me a precious gift of time and attention. I am visualising “Rose in the air” (You know what I am talking about) after writing these words of gratitude for you. Ah, it was difficult but I had to.

The most precious gift you can give someone is the gift of your time and attention.

– Rose’s favourite quote

So please think twice before you give it to someone.

As always, you can share your views, thoughts and feedback in any available options. I would be glad if you prefer the comment section or email though. Let me know what gift you think is the most precious to give. Have any incidence to share? Tell me. Thank you for reading and giving me the most precious gift of time. Stay blessed.