Christmas Giving

Josh Reeves has crafted this meaningful guided meditation writing process for Christmas giving that promises to usher individuals into a serene contemplation. This process invites participants to embark on a heartwarming journey within themselves, creating a special space for reflection and rejuvenation during the holiday season.

Transcript

My name is Josh Reeves and I want to invite you to join me in a writing meditation.

It's a writing meditation to help us articulate meaningful Christmas gifts and messages to the people that matter most to us.

Since it's a writing meditation you'll need something to write with it on and you'll probably not be able to keep your eyes closed the entire time.

But what you can do,

And I invite you to begin with me right now,

Is to become aware of your breathing,

To become aware of your environment,

To become conscious right here and right now,

Present to the presence that we are going to give and express to the people that we love.

And I invite you to begin by writing three names,

Three names of people that you really want to honor and recognize this Christmas,

People that matter to you,

That you want to give not just transactional,

Superficial,

Whatever gifts to,

But meaningful,

Life-affirming,

Heartwarming gifts.

Do you have your three people?

Then we have three questions for each one.

So write the name of the first person that you want to give something to,

And I'm going to write down my son Gavin.

And the first question is,

What is the quality I see most vividly in this person that I wish to nurture?

What is the quality I see most vividly in this person that I wish to nurture?

Let me clarify what I mean by that.

What is that quality that I see in this person I love and care for that I want them to see more clearly about themselves and to live more abundantly?

When I think of my son,

One thing that I see in him is genuine care for others.

In my experience of him,

He's not great at thanking people for gifts or doing incredibly thoughtful things,

But I wonder if that isn't more because of an anxiety or nervousness.

What I see is a deep inner thoughtfulness about him,

And I'd like to nurture that this Christmas and in Christmases to come.

The next question is,

What is something I can say to this person this Christmas to encourage that quality?

What is something you can say to this person you love this Christmas that encourages and nurtures that quality so that they can see it and live it more abundantly?

I know for many of us a Christmas letter may be out of our routine,

But maybe you could write a note or a card along with a present,

Even something on a post-it note.

What would you say?

To my son,

I would say,

Gavin,

I love the way you see people and really notice them.

I hope you continue to let people know that you see them because so many of us feel unseen in our lives.

Your gift of sight and appreciation of shared will go a long way to make people feel special,

Seen,

And prized.

The last question is,

What is a gift that might encourage this quality?

What is a gift that you can give to this loved one that acknowledges the gift you see in them so that they can see it and live it more abundantly?

For my son,

I'm writing a set of nice greeting cards with a pen,

A good book on communication.

I'm even thinking,

And sometimes we don't even think about this at Christmastime,

Something that may already be in my possession,

A family heirloom or a book that I love,

Something that's really meaningful to me that I might give to my son to help him see that divine seer and communicator in him.

Okay,

When you're complete,

We're going to move to the next person.

What is the quality I see most vividly in this person that I wish to nurture?

Again,

What's that quality you see in them you want them to see so that they can live it more abundantly?

When I think of my daughter Nancy,

One thing I see in her is a very strong awareness of her environment.

She's very intuitive and very thoughtful as well.

Next question,

What is something I can say to this person this Christmas to encourage that quality?

With my daughter,

I want to make sure that I honor when I see her do something with incredible awareness.

Recently my daughter and I were in the car with a young girl and her grandmother.

At one point the young girl made comments about her grandmother's body and movement.

My daughter said nothing at all.

I was very proud of her.

Letting my daughter know that this Christmas or even after a time when she accomplishes such a thing is important to me.

Last question,

What is the gift that might encourage this quality?

With my daughter,

I want to continue to engage her with stories of powerful young women,

Alice in Wonderland,

Or perhaps even more modern female heroes that I have yet to hear of.

So I'll be focusing on dolls,

Films,

Books that all express the power of young women and how they use their environment to help support others.

Now it's time to address the third person you mentioned and ask the question,

What is a quality I see most vividly in this person that I wish to nurture?

When I think of my wife,

I see an artist.

I think art for her brings peace of mind,

But it also helps in her overall life healing.

What is something I can say to this person this Christmas to encourage that quality?

I think I can write a note to my wife with my thoughts about her art and encourage her to take that time.

Lastly,

What is a gift that might encourage this quality?

Writing this,

I think I've come up with a great gift idea for my wife,

And it's time.

Time to do the art.

Perhaps several hours a month on a set day where she can commit herself to that art.

I've gotten her the supplies over and over again and realize the real gift would be the time to create.

Now that you've completed your answers for three people,

I just want to share that I hope you found this process increases thoughtfulness and caring as well as creativity in your gift-giving.

We can see that a gift isn't just a superficial transaction that we make with a loved one,

That it can really be something transformational.

It can be a kind of affirmative prayer that really blesses the soul of our loved one and helps give them what they really,

Really want.

Now,

I'm not saying with these creative gifts that we shouldn't also give them something they've written on their list,

But just know that more than likely,

A gift given with thoughtfulness and especially prayerfulness is going to make a big difference to them this Christmas.

Listen again and again as your list of people grows and grows.

You may want to repeat this meditation several times with different individuals,

But perhaps before we close,

Let's include ourselves because we are worthy as well this Christmas.

Write down,

What is the quality I see most vividly in myself that I want to nurture?

For me,

It's peaceful.

What is something I can say to myself this Christmas to encourage that quality?

I think I want to say to myself that peace is creative.

Peace,

Rest,

Relaxing.

I connotate these too much with doing nothing,

But the truth is is they create a better me and help good and creative things to happen.

What is a gift that might encourage this quality?

For me,

A couple of really good books and a personal retreat would do the trick.

To be able to relax with those books and in a setting,

An environment where I don't have to do anything else,

I can feel is very nurturing for me and not an escape or a separation from life,

But a real centering that helps bless every part of my life.

I appreciate you joining me in this writing meditation and wish you a very happy holiday season.

Reviews

How beautiful, and how thoughtful to take the time and really focus on those who matter to me in my life, and acknowledge to them that I genuinely *see* them. What a lovely gift you’ve shared with this meditation. I’ll take this meditation and apply it not just around the holidays, but for milestones going forward.
Thank you so much. Namaste, and happy holidays to you and yours. 🌟🙏🏽

Wishing you a very happy blessed Christmas and happy Holidays 💙