threegifts – Yoga Chikitsa

by: Jessica Lynne Trese (Moore)

It’s that time of year again! The Holidays are upon us! Soon twinkling lights will line the streets at night as the season of celebrations kicks into high gear!! And along with that comes the overwhelming pressure to buy, buy, buy! It doesn’t matter what you do or don’t celebrate this time of year, we all receive pressure from every direction to show our love through purchases.

My partner and I have taken a new twist on gift giving in our household. We only give each other three gifts.

A gift we’ve made.
An adventure OR an act of service.
A gift we’ve purchased.

Resisting the urge to waste all of our extra money on more STUFF, we’ve tried to make this seasonal celebration more a celebration of connection, instead of a celebration of consumerism.

This practice, brings a much deeper experience of connection for us throughout the entire season of celebration. We both end up taking a lot of time to decide how we want to use our three gifts.

With only one gift to purchase, we put extra thought and consideration into what we want the other person to have. Instead of buying a bunch of gifts and hoping a few of them hit the spot, we limit it to one and try to make sure that one gift is something they will truly enjoy and appreciate. And by giving each other an experience or an act of service, we offer up our time to each other, which we usually need in the midst of all the Holiday obligations and end of the year festivities. And when we make something for each other, we infuse the gift with LOVE while it’s being created, so it will always be a reminder of the time and love we put into it’s creation.

No matter how you choose to celebrate this year, try choosing connection over consumerism.