The Gift

I’ve been given many wonderful and thoughtful gifts throughout my life. From lovers, best friends, co-workers, family, even strangers. The gifts have come in boxes with bows but some of the best have come with no box at all – movie tickets, dinners at an expensive restaurant, a zipline adventure, personal art, carte blanche shopping at the mall, a day at the spa – the gifts have been as different and unique as the givers. And i’ve treasured them all. But there is another kind of gift. It comes without warning. Without asking. With no expectations. They are the Gifts of Living. Waking to a beautiful morning. The laughter of a friend. Birds eating out of your hand. Being alive. Being healthy. Being loved. What a joy!

Just the other day i received a gift. A very special gift. I was giving a tour to a large group of 3rd grade children. I was about half-way through the tour when something magical happened. We were sitting outside on a wonderful Fall day when one of the children asked a question about the place we were sitting. Instead of answering, i asked a question in return. There was the briefest moment of silence. Then the questions started tumbling one over another. First a trickle, then faster and faster, like the first thaw in Spring, gathering momentum and speed. And i sat transfixed. Rooted to the moment. They were connecting the dots. The information morphed from fact to a knowing in their minds. The questions became paths of understanding. As one child questioned, another would voice an answer. That thought would be picked up by yet another child, who carried the flow of logic to another level. Soon the whole class was building a story, a reasoning, and they were doing this together – as one.

Beautiful. Magical. Like watching a new-born fawn struggle to make its first steps; they wobbled and fumbled their way until, with amazing speed, their minds built a solid foundation of reason they could stand on. I said very little, only nodded encouragement now and again. I was witnessing the best of what it is to be human – the birth of thought. What a precious gift. I have been blessed.