Presence Not Presents 2

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Photo Credits:-

Father-Son Time
(johnhain, Pixabay)

Angelic Thought
(kellepics, Pixabay)

Angel Wings
(Momentmal, Pixabay)

"You give but little when you give of your possessions.
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give."

(Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet)

To make Earth sustainable, we need a simpler material lifestyle, especially in the Rich World.
Parents and grandparents tend to overload their children with presents on festive occasions, like birthdays and Christmas.
You can try a low-gift rule.
Or buy experiences rather than things.

Good long-term feelings come from presence not presents!
Children need quality and quantity time!!

What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.
(From In the Bleak Midwinter by Christina Rossetti)

Are You Listening to Your Child?

Here is a quiz from the book Hidden Messages by Elizabeth Pantley, chapter 'Empty Your Hands, Open Your Heart' (p.128). See how many of the following you can honestly affirm happened in the past week.

I looked into my child's eyes as I listened.
My child told me something I didn't know.
I asked my child a question and then listened to the entire answer without interrupting.
I put down whatever was in my hands to show my child my full attention.
I was available to my child when he or she wanted to talk to me.
As I listened to my child, I held back at least one unproductive comment.
I laughed at something funny that my child said.

An angel that looks like a woman, with brown angelic wings, looks upward to her left. Her elbows rest on a surface and her chin in her hands. She looks pensive, sending angelic thoughts?

"If instead of a gem, or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought into the heart of a friend, that would be giving as the angels give."
(George McDonald)

Resources

Effective Communication & Children (PWP).
The Gift of Death (George Monbiot, 2012).
Should we all impose a one-gift rule at Christmas? (BBC, 2017).

A pair of golden angel wings, on a white background

This is the 2nd article on 'Presence Not Presents' and focuses on Parenting.

Also see:-

Presence Not Presents

Effective Communication & Children

Presence

Being Here-Now

Being Here-Now Quotes

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