Self Gift

The best gifts have a way of breaking through life in a flash, in a gasp, only to disappear when self consciousness moves in.

When I meet you on your terms, when I turn myself upside down, you spring to life and grace me with immeasurable joy. I forget the me and for just a second I become the you.

It never seems to happen when we schedule it. It never seems to happen when I ask for the gift. It only happens when I self-gift. 

Moments like this happen every day with fathers and daughters, with mothers and sons, and with sisters and brothers. How can we find the gift in those who are marginalized because of circumstances beyond their control. How can we find the gift in the person who we consider "the other?" 

Have you ever thought that you needed to perfect your life or make your first million before you could contribute to the lives of others? 

Maybe not. Perhaps we could give the gift of self any time even in the midst of overwhelming grief. 

Read the New York Times article about parents who turned the loss of their daughter into an opportunity to serve.