The Christmas season is busy with all our domestic energy turned to shopping for gift exchanges — secret Santa at the kids’ school, Chinese gift exchanges at work, presents for the teachers etc — not to mention the standard gift giving of the season with family and friends. Lured in by the culture of gift giving, I cannot help but think about how generosity is fuelled by oil and how it all fuels capitalism. Somewhere this week, in the ebb and flow of information, and the rush to and fro from Christmas concerts and big box shopping centers, I read somewhere that the best gift of the season is to share our gratitude with those with whom we are in relation, because the rest all just ends up in the landfill at some point or another.

What a novel idea: share of yourself at this time of the year! How ‘innovative’– since that is such a buzz word used to reclaim so much of what is not really new at all. In this case, however, it would be a worthy turn or innovation in our behaviour.

Happy holidays! … and thank you for reading. I’m grateful to have an audience for my brief daily reflections.

(Image: Google Image Search for “Christmas Gifting Ideas”. I don’t need any of this. I don’t know about you.)

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