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29 Gifts ... well, actually 35 Gifts!
Dec. 30th, 2009 11:53 pmDearest Friends,
I just read my monthly Wildmind newsletter and one of the things mentioned was a book review of "29 Gifts" by Cami Walker which I have just read (the review, not the book).
The blog entry and embedded video just bowled me over. The basic idea is she gave 29 gifts in 29 days. The gifts were simple things like giving a tissue to an upset friend, or some pocket change to a beggar. The mindset change of the giver is the thing which really mattered.
I immediately thought that it would be the most fantastic way to start 2010 on a positive mental note - by giving gifts all through January. It's 11:30pm on the 30th of December as I write this, and "twenty ten" (2010) still sounds very much like the future to me. I know that historically it's 2011 that's the start of a new decade but it's 2010 that hits me psychologically. I think it'd be wonderful to start it by doing something special.
While writing a response to the blog post, I realised that the end of January is very close to my birthday; which is on the 3rd of February. Why not give a gift every day until my birthday? I was thinking this is a bit more than 29 gifts so I counted up the days. One more day of December plus 31 days of January plus 3 days of February is 35 days. Thirty five is the age I'm turning on that day. I'm not superstitious about numbers in the conventional sense[*], but I like it when things add up like that :)
I have been having a bit of personal angst about my birthday. Nothing major, just realising that 35 is half way to 70 and I haven't really accomplished much in the way of standard life goals and I feel weird about that. (Yes, I know I've accomplished heaps and I have perfectly good reasons for not having got married/bought a house/had a good job, but that doesn't change the feeling much).
So this is what I'll do. From 31 December until my birthday on the 3rd of February my goal will be to give a gift each day. It's not the standard 29 days that seems to have sparked an international "29 gifts" movement but I think it's what is most right for me. It also melds well with doing random acts of kindness, which is something my parents instilled in my from an early age.
So here's my public declaration of intent. I'm hoping to be able to post each day at least a sentence or two about what I gave, I'll make it a priority. If you notice I've missed a few days, you have my permission to poke me!
See you tomorrow :)
Cheers,
Ricky
[*] Note on superstition: I'm not superstitious about numbers in the conventional sense of believing numbers have intrinsic power that's external to me. I know, however, that certain numbers have psychological meaning to me and that makes them "powerful" in a personal way.
I just read my monthly Wildmind newsletter and one of the things mentioned was a book review of "29 Gifts" by Cami Walker which I have just read (the review, not the book).
The blog entry and embedded video just bowled me over. The basic idea is she gave 29 gifts in 29 days. The gifts were simple things like giving a tissue to an upset friend, or some pocket change to a beggar. The mindset change of the giver is the thing which really mattered.
I immediately thought that it would be the most fantastic way to start 2010 on a positive mental note - by giving gifts all through January. It's 11:30pm on the 30th of December as I write this, and "twenty ten" (2010) still sounds very much like the future to me. I know that historically it's 2011 that's the start of a new decade but it's 2010 that hits me psychologically. I think it'd be wonderful to start it by doing something special.
While writing a response to the blog post, I realised that the end of January is very close to my birthday; which is on the 3rd of February. Why not give a gift every day until my birthday? I was thinking this is a bit more than 29 gifts so I counted up the days. One more day of December plus 31 days of January plus 3 days of February is 35 days. Thirty five is the age I'm turning on that day. I'm not superstitious about numbers in the conventional sense[*], but I like it when things add up like that :)
I have been having a bit of personal angst about my birthday. Nothing major, just realising that 35 is half way to 70 and I haven't really accomplished much in the way of standard life goals and I feel weird about that. (Yes, I know I've accomplished heaps and I have perfectly good reasons for not having got married/bought a house/had a good job, but that doesn't change the feeling much).
So this is what I'll do. From 31 December until my birthday on the 3rd of February my goal will be to give a gift each day. It's not the standard 29 days that seems to have sparked an international "29 gifts" movement but I think it's what is most right for me. It also melds well with doing random acts of kindness, which is something my parents instilled in my from an early age.
So here's my public declaration of intent. I'm hoping to be able to post each day at least a sentence or two about what I gave, I'll make it a priority. If you notice I've missed a few days, you have my permission to poke me!
See you tomorrow :)
Cheers,
Ricky
[*] Note on superstition: I'm not superstitious about numbers in the conventional sense of believing numbers have intrinsic power that's external to me. I know, however, that certain numbers have psychological meaning to me and that makes them "powerful" in a personal way.
