With the holiday hustle and bustle in full swing—especially the countdown of shopping days before Christmas—I’m happy to stay on the sidelines. On the Friday after Thanksgiving, my husband and I have a tradition of observing Buy Nothing Day, instead of joining the throngs at the malls.
Though I shop for, wrap and send only a few holiday presents, it’s not that I’m adverse to giving—and receiving—gifts. It’s just that I tend to look for deeper meaning, and the ritual of gift-giving during this season can feel a bit empty to me. Years ago, a friend of mine called herself “a meaning junky.” That’s my addiction too, and, like anything we’re hooked on, sometimes it might be better to let go.
But I can’t just go along with the crowd, and I continue to seek meaning. And sometimes it finds me! Recently, I was inspired by a practice suggested in an email from Lynn Jericho: Looking back over the year and noticing what’s been given and received. So I am asking myself: What are the gifts I’ve been given this year? What are the gifts I have received?
There are a multitude of things that I am grateful for: increasingly good health, a more peaceful mind, loving relationships, opportunities to serve. I actually could put all of these things under both columns. 
It is because I have received so much support and guidance and love this year—and in years past—that I am able to give more of myself than I had the energy to before. And, through giving to my community, I receive so very much.
A real gift for me is the opportunity to blog. When I saw Avatar, I resonated with the Navi greeting, “I see you.” To be seen in my deepest essence, and to see others in this light, is truly what I live for. It is my hope that I will gain courage, as I venture into this new territory of writing for the blog, and show more of myself. I am grateful to not be the only “meaning junky” out there.
So, tell me: What gifts have you been given this year? What gifts have you received?
