In The Middle
By now you are probably right in the middle of your holiday shopping. If you are lucky you are done, have all the gifts wrapped and places lovingly under your decorated Christmas tree. The calander tells us that we are only 16 days away from Christmas.
I’d like you to sit back a minute…that’s right take a moment to breathe…and really stop and think what Christmas means to you and how you have spent the last few weeks. Have you been frantic about what you should buy the children, the spouse, the parents, the grandparents, the aunts, the uncles and the friends? Are you buying helter skelter so that you can have a present for each person or are you taking time and really thinking about each person and what the gift you give them will mean to them? Will that gift end up in a closet, will that gift allow them to think about you each time they use it or look at it? What does that gift say about you? Are you stressing about each purchase or are you allowing the energy of each person you buy for to touch your heart as you make your choices?
In the last blog I talked about aparigraha non-hoarding/non-accumilation. This time I would like to talk about another Yama (one of the 8 limbs of the Yoga Sutras). Ahimsa, non-harming, which asks us to embrace nonviolence at the level of speech, thought and action. You may be asking what that has to do with purchasing Christmas gifts. Ahimsa is about not harming the enviorment with over abundance of non consumable goods. It is about not harming those we come into contact with while we are shopping with our actions..you know pushing, shoving and wanting to be the first in line….or with our speech..those impatient words we use with the clerks when we are frustrated…ah and don’t forget to watch those thoughts because they truly are not harming the other person they are harming you.
Please take time to stop and think about your choices in gift giving. What does this gift I am about to give say about me, say about the person I am about to give it to? Is it thoughtful, is it non-harming…as is it enviromentally friendly,(hopefully it is a consumable gift)?
Dirty Girl Farm has wonderful gift giving products that reflect these two Yama’s. Our products are created with love and everything we use is recycled in some way. We are very conscious of ahimsa & aparigraha. Be wise in YOUR choices this year take time to really think about what you are buying, whom you are buying it for, and why you are buying something for that person.
We at Dirty Girl Farm want you and those you care about to have a health filled holiday and New Year. Take time during this busy season to reflect on the true meaning of this season. It’s not about the gifts it’s about the love behind the gifting.
