News From The Beach from Pug At The Beach: Pug's Gift Giving Guide

News From The Beach

Zen healing from Pug, an island dog philosopher

News From The Beach from Pug At The Beach: Pug's Gift Giving Guide

Pug's Gift Giving Guide

“On the many beaches Pug visited he always found a name left behind, its owner carving the letters with a stick in the sand or forming them with seashells or seaweed or sometimes with random lengths of driftwood cast ashore by the ocean. The discovery delighted his heart every time, but he wondered – why do people engage in this seemingly futile act when the tide simply and without fail, washed it all away? The island dog philosopher reasoned that all people crave immorality through a legacy whether material, philosophical, or simply through the carefree impermanence of a drawing in the sand, and besides, it was just a fun thing to do.”
~ Ebbing Legacies, from the new book, Pug At The Beach, Adventures From The Beach

As the holiday season approaches, we are often asked to contemplate previous year’s gifts either given or received. The purpose is as a testament to the importance of retaining holiday cheer through the understanding that gifts are not the end all and be all of the holiday. They are merely an embellishment of it.

With an absence of grandeur attached to a gift, say a new car with a big red bow attached to the hood, it becomes impossible to remember the gift your spouse gave you or even the gift you gave your spouse last year, never mind the exchanged gifts of two years ago.

And yet, as a society we obsess about the perfect gift…and the cost…and the presentation…and whether the recipient will appreciate our efforts. Intellectually we know this to be a truth, our truth, but we do it anyway. Like names drawn in the sand, old gifts become invisible with time.

Is there an answer? Well, no. The answer comes from within and individual circumstances, but there are suggestions. We can support local talent (every community has someone who's finding their way), give to the causes the gift recipient supports (anything from diseases to pet rescue), or tone down the gift itself by offering a gift certificate to lunch at a local restaurant (wouldn’t you love to go out to lunch and have someone else pick up the tab? I would!) Each of these gifts supports the economy while still holding true to the season. Each stands a greater chance of being remembered than, say, socks or a sweater.

It’s difficult to claim a new truth and even more difficult to stand up and declare that truth to family who may not be open to change. The bottom line is that our relatives don’t live in our lives. We do. They cannot feel the pain, emotional or real, in our schedule conflicted hearts. They do not feel our middle of the night money anxiety. Nor do they experience panic when pulling into the driveway of an inevitable replay of past family turmoil and tension which lies in wait behind gaily decorated doors. They may have their own version, and they probably do, but they cannot feel ours.

In all fairness, they may be justified in stating their preferences, one would hope in a respectful and loving way, but we alone make the decision to what’s right for us at this moment in our lives.

The absolute truth of it all is that life can be, and sometimes is, fleeting. Just ask anyone who’s experienced a terminal diagnosis or those who’ve experienced death close up through the hands of another. Then it becomes about the giving of one’s heart and the love that’s generated as a result.

Pug is right, we leave behind our names knowing they’ll be washed away with the tide, but we lovingly write those names in the sand just the same and we leave this legacy with a joyful heart because that’s what life and the season is all about – joy.

My wish for you this season is that you find your own path to joyful holiday giving whatever that looks like for you.

<*(((><

This post was originally published in November, 2008.

Copyright 2008 Diana Taylor, Pug At The Beach
Photo credit: Diana Taylor, Delray Beach, Florida

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