29 Gifts - Round III, Week I

If you follow my blog you know that twice before I have taken on the challenge of giving away 29 gifts in 29 days. Inspired by a suggestion about a book by Cami Walker, the idea is just simply to be mindful of giving a gift of some kind every day for 29 days. What I learned in the first two rounds of this experiment are true this round as well and it has only been about five days. Here are the lessons in a nutshell. 1. You change your definition of a gift 2. You are so squarely in the energy of giving and gratitude that gifts begin arriving to you. 3. Even with the best intention otherwise, you give the gift you are meant to give on the day you are meant to give it and not a day earlier. 4. You think differently, which means sometimes you think, 'I could pass this up, but I am giving gifts right now.' 5. Possibility and challenge are all around you. Really, they always were, but you might not have noticed. A gift can be ANYTHING. And thinking of it in this way opens you to the possibility that things that you thought nothing of could truly change someone or something. I had this habit the first time I did this experiment to pay someone's toll. I think it's because something so basic would have meant so much to me when I was a poor college student who did not have the cash. Sure, now we have iPass (well, I still don't), but it still means something. This experiment opens you up to thinking beyond your own borders. I am five days in. I have had people reach out to me, say kind things and leave loving messages on my Facebook wall. My kids have given me extra kisses and people have seemed to reach out more even to just say thank you. Maybe it all would have happened without this experiment, but maybe the magic is in noticing it. I began the week like this - Monday: Donate to scholarship fund Tuesday: Help a friend move Wednesday: Rearrange my schedule to be with my kids after school. This was tough to analyze because certainly I WANTED to spend more time with my kids than I ordinarily get - so in a way it was also a gift TO me. But it was a gift from me and I am learning that many, many times they are both. Thursday: I spontaneously gifted myself time. I chose one thing over another which was tough because I wanted to do the thing I did not choose so much more. But I did not have to do it right then. And I am grateful for the decision. Friday: Today was filled with gifts, so it is hard to just choose one. But I am going to go with subtlety. I reached out and asked someone (who was a stranger, this was for a story), if she was comfortable with how the interview was set up. This was perhaps instinct, but having asked, I was answered with a huge thank you from her for being cognizant enough to ask the question. A gift back. This has been a taxing and rewarding week. I still have not ACTUALLY donated to the scholarship I set out to donate to on Monday. In my experience, this probably means there was another gift that the Universe counted on Monday. And I spent a good deal of time at my grandmother's house renovating. I was joined by my boyfriend who rolled up his sleeves and helped, a gift to me. And while I am renovating so I can comfortably live there, this is also a gift to my mother (who physically cannot do it) and to my brother who wants so much for it to be done, but has no time to do it himself. I have friends on this journey with me this time. Some amazing women who accepted the challenge to give away gifts for 29 days right alongside me. I did not consciously note it at the time, but on the 29th day, I will close a door and step out into opportunity. This grand experiment ends on my last day with my current job. I am happy to enter into it with a line of gifts behind me.