My journey today took me to another state, and involved time spent with a dear person in the hospital. Walking with him through a challenging time is my honor and privilege. The story is his though, and not mine to share. I was present. And he is on a healing journey now.
Home after a long day that began at 3:30 am, I popped a Christmas movie into the tv/dvd player and gathered wrapping supplies. Before retiring, I wanted to get a few more gifts wrapped for Christmas.
Gift wrapping is common this time of year. However, for me it’s more than sliding gifts into festive bags or covering a box with merry paper. It’s a meditative act that I’ve practiced since my children were small.
As I wrap each gift, or tuck colorful tissue paper around it, I think about the person who will be receiving the present. I picture them, with their beautiful faces, their bright, shining souls, their eyes full of mirth. I surround that person with blessings, prayers, Love and Light. I imagine an amazing upcoming year for them.
As I write that person’s name on the gift tag and affix it to the present, it is an “amen” a “may it be so” to all that I’ve been thinking for and about that loved one. And then I select a different person’s gift and start the meditation again. It’s a beautiful experience, one that I cherish. And I much prefer what this practice has evolved into, over feeling rushed and stressed about getting the gifts wrapped, as I once did.
Tonight I realized that as I create these Christmas packages, I am doing more than wrapping them in paper. I am wrapping them, and the recipients, in love. Further, I saw that being present with another today, sharing his journey, holding his hand, giving reassuring hugs and words, was actually another form of the same act. It was a full circle kind of day, wrapped in love from start to finish.
