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Why Is Giving Gifts Important?
The giving and receiving of gifts is a time-honored method of expressing or reaffirming love or affection. It is not limited to the human species of the animal kingdom, but here, I am talking about human beings exchanging gifts with one another. Gifts Appeal to the Giver Even in prehistoric times, a giver of gifts would be perceptive to the needs and desires of his partner or intended recipient. He would spot something that made him think of the other person, something that might be useful, meaningful based on past experience, or decorative. First, it had to appeal to him. Then, he had to think that it might appeal to the other. The Motivation of Giving The motivation behind gift-giving is also prehistoric. A gift may be given out of love and unselfish devotion. A gift may be given to gain favor, on a personal or political level. Or a gift may be given to fulfill an obligation, perceived or established. Whatever the motivation for giving or the purpose of the gift, the act of giving fulfills a personal, human need; and through giving, we humans derive some satisfaction. When we are unable to give, or our gifts are not well received, our perception of self is affected. Throughout history, the giving of gifts has become ritualized, and entire societies and religions have incorporated great significance to certain gifts and gift-giving occasions. In today's over-commercialized world, gift-giving can easily become a burden, not a joy. One evidence of the extent of that "burden" of giving gifts might be the Christmas holiday and the increased incidence of severe depression that often comes during the Christmas season. We truly want to give, and if we can't -- for whatever reason -- we are affected negatively. We internalize the feelings of inadequacy, our self-esteem is diminished, and we often react to these feelings by manifesting a disdain for the act of giving itself. Sometimes it seems that no matter how much we give, it is not enough. We are frustrated, and may even become angry. When You Can No Longer Give For people to whom giving gifts has been important, finding themselves in a economic situation in which they are unable to maintain their gift-giving can lead to depression, increase the feeling of uselessness and hopelessness, and hasten the effects of aging. Traditionally, home-made or hand-made gifts were most appreciated. It is often the case nowadays that Granny cannot make anything to compare to the quality and external appeal of commercial products. Kids nowadays do not value home-made clothing. Young girls are not filling Hope Chests with quilts that Aunt Elizabeth made from scraps. Our challenge today is first, recognize the human need for giving gifts and the joy that it brings to our lives to be able to say, "I care about you" through giving. Second, to accept that we are probably unable to give all the gifts we'd like to of the kind and quality we'd like to all the people we'd like to give them to. Third, discover ways of gifting that satisfy our need to give and at the same time, satisfy a need for the recipients. Something useful. Something meaningful. Or, something decorative. Fourth, recognize that the need to establish a gifting budget is just as important as the grocery budget or the vacation budget or the entertainment budget. Why is the giving of gifts important? It is important to help us maintain our mental health, our sense of well-being, our sense of belonging to our community. It's a way to say, "I'm still here! And I still care about you!" |
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