Gifting - A New Life Lesson to Live!

A gift. Something to give. Something to get. What’s your idea of a gift? I bet you look forward to getting a gift, right? How about giving a gift? Is that something you must think about, or are not sure about, or even don’t like? Well, how about looking at gifting in a different way. 
The second of The 10 Principles of Burning Man is Gifting. 

Here’s how it is put forth by The Burning Man Project: 

Gifting 

Burning Man is devoted to acts of gift giving. The value of a gift is unconditional. Gifting does not contemplate a return or an exchange for something of equal value. 

For me, this Principle made me rethink what gifts and giving is all about. This happened beginning in my first year going to Burning Man. For that year, I decided to make gifts that reflected something I liked and could make myself. So, I came up with the idea of making small miniature paintings that could be worn as necklaces. Each one of these was made of poplar wood slating, measuring a bit less than 2 inches square. I sanded each one, primes each with spray enamel paint and then painted various scenes, flowers and Burning Man ideas on each, using a magnifying light ring to get the detailed I wanted. I then attached cording to complete the necklace. In 2009, I made 50 of these. In 2010, I made 100 and in 2011, I made almost 200! Upon arrival on the playa, I gave out the necklaces to anyone who I came upon. In fact, I only have about 30 of these now...all the rest were gifted.  

These gifts were given, as the Principle states, without condition. I wanted nothing in return. In fact, I wanted each miniature painting to be not just a gift of painted wood, but a gift of myself through the expression of what I enjoyed creatively – art, scenery, abstraction, flowers, and Burning Man itself. It’s in that expression that the reality – and beauty – of gifting comes out.  
The real gift is that of what we ourselves give to one another! Every gift of ourselves should be given unconditionally, unselfishly and with caring and love. In fact, we should see ourselves and what we do in a positive way as a gift we can give every day!! Our lives and our good acts ARE a gift. Think about what gifts you have to give that are a part of you. Think about the value you can give not just to yourself, but to friends, family and everyone around you. What a better world we could have if we looked at each moment, each day in this way. 

Below are just a few of the miniature painting gifts of self I produced. 

Always know that Burning Man co-founder Larry Harvey wrote the 10 Principles in 2004 as guidelines for the newly-formed Regional Network. They were crafted not as a dictate of how people should be and act, but as a reflection of the community’s ethos and culture as it had organically developed since the event’s inception. Learn more about The 10 Principles and The Burning Man Project at: The 10 Principles of Burning Man | Burning Man
 
The Man burns in 33 days!! 

Many of the miniature paintings can be seen on my Flickr site in two albums:

2011 Burning Man Miniature Paintings | Flickr

My Miniature Paintings 2009 & 2010 | Flickr

What Did You Do Today...?

Ok, here's the question: What did you do today to create value?  

Think about that for a moment. Are you wondering what I mean? Are you asking, "what value?" OK, fair enough. Let me make this a little clearer. First, think about what you did today to create value in yourself. Did you look in the mirror and smile at yourself, thinking "I am going to make this a great day?" or did you create something positive for yourself? In creating and building a value-driven life, it is important to take some time each day for yourself. This means that you can do a positive activity, like working out at the gym, or writing something, or even do something artistic. These positive activities - things you want and like to do - will help you build your self-value. The more your build your own self-value, the better you will feel about yourself and your ability to meet the challenges that you will face each day.

Now, how about sharing some of your value with others! Maybe you simply opened a door for someone in the store. Maybe you thanked someone for their help, or maybe you called a friend and listened to them as they related an issue to you. By sharing your value, you are giving of yourself and helping to build someone's own value-driven life. And, just as importantly, you are helping to build your own self-value. 

See! Simple things you do today mean a lot to you and someone else. Each day, by doing something to create value, you are continuing to build on your own life of value. So, the question is...what are you going to do today...and tomorrow??

Please share what you do (and have done) to create value for yourself and others. You just may help someone on their journey towards a value-driven life!!  Comments???

Giving and Taking - It’s All about Balance

I’ve been told over and over that I’m a “giver” in my life. That’s probably true. I love to give of myself, give to others and donate to causes I believe passionately about. But I also enjoy giving to those I love and care about too. In that is the issue. I’ve always given so much, without asking for anything in return, that I end up getting disappointed and hurt. The cause of this discord is that unconscious and unrealistic expectations are created. Our human nature causes us to think that “if you give, you shall also receive”, but the reality is that this almost never occurs. So many of us, myself included who are givers end up waiting for a return that doesn’t equal what we give out. We become disillusioned, disappointed and discouraged. If we let this go on long enough, we become hurt and unhappy with ourselves, even to the point that we feel that the problem is with “me”. At its worse, this spiraling downward and inward ends up becoming self-destructive to the point that we stop giving to the most important person who matters – ourselves.

To begin mastering the art of self-evolution, we (and I) need to take a step back and look at reality. The reality is that a happy, healthy life is all about balance. As a “giver”, we need to know that some people are truly “takers” and will take from us all we have if we let them. It becomes our own choice to let that happen or not. To evolve, we as givers who are seeking and needing balance need to seek out others who are also seeking and needing balance. We then need to open up a questioning dialogue between ourselves and listen to each other. We need to reach a point where we seek mutual understanding about what we need to give and what we need to take. In essence, each of us needs to find a proper balance. Finding this balance is not always easy or comfortable, but it will help each of us grow and evolve. In the end, happiness and contentment can and will come from achieving this simple balance between giving and taking in our lives, but only if we open up to it.