Hello Everyone
With Christmas in the western world
many of us thinking about which present to get for those we love. My challenge is to really get you thinking about which present.
The Australia Institute from their
surveys and Adele Horin found out that last Christmas 6 million Australians
received one or more presents they never used or later gave away.
The survey also found that more than
one in four respondents expect that some of the presents they give will be put
in the back cupboard.
Unwanted presents represent a waste of
time, money and resources to the value of $798 million each year.
The Director of the Institute also
pointed out that our culture of obligatory giving only brings joy to the big
retailers and the big banks. The banks
are mentioned because of the habit of funding gifts by use of credit cards.
Unfortunately the survey also found
that one quarter of Australians expect to give presents to people they would
prefer not to. And a quarter of these
reluctant givers were also unable to pay their credit card debt!
In other words about 1 million
Australians are spending money they don’t have to buy presents they’d rather
not give.
But the news is not all grim. Nearly
four in five respondents would be happy for a donation to be made to a charity
on their behalf instead of getting a present.
But most psychologists and
relationship counsellors will agree that the best gift you can give someone is
your own presence – spending time, making eye contact and really listening to
the ones you love.
By this I mean not worrying about how
to fix their problems or how soon you can interrupt their talking. But rather just being present and wanting to
hear what they have to say.
For those of us who have ever
experienced the first flush of love it is that presence. It is when you hear whatever that other
person is saying as gold and music to your ears without judgement, comment or
criticism. This presence is the rarest
of all. It is the cheapest and the most
valuable present you can give.
Roz Townsend www.roztownsend.com
