With Christmas Season upon us, I wish for all that they simply reflect upon the true nature of giving.

Hint: It’s not what corporate America and its brilliant and well-compensated marketing teams hijacked decades ago and is now set to the soundtrack of a handful of incessantly played “Christmas songs,” voracious consumerism, and jingling cash registers.

No.

It is the giving of yourself in capacity, whether that is a simple and kind word, reaching out to an old friend, or providing monetary aid to those truly in need. It is also, of course, spending time with family and those special people who choose to stay in our lives.

This mindset of giving should prevail 365 days a year, but some simply need reminding, it seems.

Western civilization Christians celebrate December 25 as the birth of Christ, and although that exact date and even month is debated among scholars, the act of giving remains a central message of Christianity when interpreted in its true original intent.

I’m not at all anti-Christmas celebration. I’m just of the mindset that it’s more about people than presents or decorations. I love finding and giving the perfect gift to people, but just not always at Christmas. I’m certainly not opposed to the decorations as long as they don’t become the central focus.

Once on Christmas Eve driving through a poorer part of Alabama in the predawn hours, we passed a row of what could only charitably be called shacks. They were festooned with twinkling lights of red, green, yellow, and blue. It didn’t take much imagination to visualize an empty Folgers Coffee can on the kitchen shelf that held the money to pay the monthly bills. And that can was likely running low.

If those lights brought moments of joy into what might have been a bleak year for those residents, I’m all for it. It has been my firsthand experience that people with few worldly goods understand much about the giving of themselves. I would like to think that maybe among other things those lights were their gift to us and other passersby.

The rest of that day was spent with my dear friend and our dogs on one of our more successful hunts. It began to snow on the way home.

Decades later, curiously, when recalling that day, we talk more about those predawn lights on Christmas Eve and being in that moment together than the outrageously successful hunt that followed. Our talented dogs were curled peacefully beside us, half in our laps in the front seat of my truck. The moment has become a timeless memory.

Being in the moment with someone is gifting as well.

Shared in a recent conversation with a lifetime close friend was the fact that an extremely special person had entered his life.

I responded: “Well, enjoy the journey, my friend. That clock just won’t stop ticking. I’ve tried to kill it, but so far nothing seems to be working. The only thing that slows it is the love for special people. The clock ticks on, but time then becomes infinitely more bearable.”

Certainly bearable for him after he tells me that while attending a live concert he was so moved by his newfound friend’s presence and the music that he simply took her hand, led her along, and the two of them danced at the front of the stage in front of hundreds of people. They were the only couple to do so and completely oblivious to the stiff stares of the scores of people who don’t comprehend simply letting go, nor the giving of one’s self while ignoring the attendant fragility potentially involved.

Giving takes many forms.

Some that enter our lives burn like a bright and intense shooting star for a season and then are gone like smoke in the wind. Others last decades and lifetimes like soft gentle moonlight on a clear evening. Those relationships are to be treasured and protected.

And so it is.

Cherish and never for a second take for granted those special people who walk beside you in this transitory life. Give to them in capacity. Some offer much without asking for anything in return, and some take much without truly giving. Regardless, they are there for a reason, and I simply can’t get it out of my mind that a greater purpose prevails here.

A favorite poet, Mario de Andrade, penned: “My goal is to arrive to the end satisfied and in peace with my loved ones and my conscience. I hope that your goal is the same.”

Of course, those who truly know me fundamentally understand I will need a good dog along with me as well, perhaps the most freely giving of God’s creatures I have encountered. They have taught me much.

May you find the simple gift of giving yourself this season, and Peace Be Upon You.