About a week ago, I was having a conversation with Nicole and a good friend named Kevin. We were talking about the value of a gift. Kevin said that he would rather spend $100 on a meaningful memory that will only last an hour then an object that will be around forever. That got me to thinking about how different people look at gifts.
Some people thing that Kevin is dead wrong. They would rather have a physical object to pass down to ancestors. They think that the object could generate memories and be a physical reminder of someone even after they are long gone. But others think that objects apart from meaningful experiences are void of what makes life special. Would a picture of a beautiful bowl of fruit have as much meaning if you had never tasted fresh fruit? Would a man in his old age even remember a friend or relative that had died unless there was a physical object to remind him of the person? Is it really the thought that counts or how much someone enjoys the gift? Are the best gifts those that cost the most?
I guess that I could go around forever thinking about the best gift. But as I stop to consider the intellectual journey, I find myself already tired at the start. Maybe the point is that we are just to be generous people? The more we give, the more we get. Some how we keep throwing bread in the water and it some how finds its way back to us in the future.
