Give someone THIS gift for Christmas...

Give someone the gift of...


...YOU!!!


Sounds a little cheezy, eh?


Bear with me on this one...(not like Winnie The Pooh "bear", but like 'hang in there' "bear")...


Seriously...most of us are gonna be around all kinds of folks this Christmas & New Years.  (Wow...can you believe it?  Geepers crow...it's gonna be 2010 in 11 days!  WOW!) 


Think for a second or maybe think for like a bunch of handfuls of seconds about what makes you unique?  Seriously...just stick w/me for a bit like a Post-It.  What is it about you that attracts other people?  No, not like in a hot & sexy sorta way, but like in a 'Why-do-you-have-the-friends-you-do?' sorta way. 


By mere definition a 'friendship' is typically one in which there is give & take; there is mutual benefit; there are deposits & withdrawals on both sides of the friendship account; there is added value.


So, what is YOUR added value?  If you've got any sort of friends, then you've got SOME sort of added value.  What is it?  Why do your friends like you?  Statistically speaking, it's probably not because of your big bank account or salivating good looks.  :-)  Sorry, but not all of us can look like Arnold Schwarzegibbens!  (Wait!  What?!?  Why are YOU laughing so hard on that one?!?  Don't make me come through this screen & issue you a full 12 pack of the Big Hurt.  Folks have died for lesser things...in fact, the boogey man checks under his bed for ME!!  Evidently you haven't heard the whole line of jokes that are out there due to my superior ninja skills.  We had to change the name to "Chuck Norris Jokes" just to protect my posterity.) 


Anyway...if I were to poll your top 5-10 friends, what would they say they appreciate most about you?  Why do they enjoy hangin' out w/you?  (And, yes, if you are in the very, very small minority of people out there w/monster bank accounts & Zoolander-esque (ridiculously, ridiculously good) looks then you already know the answer why your friends like you!  (LOL...just kidding!  Gee whiz, lighten up!))  Do you make your friends feel better about themselves when they're with you?  Do you make them laugh (at you or with you?  Either way will work.)  :-)  (That was another good one, by the way.  If I need to start holding up the ever-so-effective "Applause" sign, I will.  Man, this is a tough crowd.)  Or maybe you're a great listener?  (Or maybe you're just really good at fake listening putting up w/your friends ridiculously meaningless banter!)  :-)  Or maybe you're empathetic.  Maybe you're a great problem solver.  Maybe you have a good smile.  Maybe you're non-threatening.  Maybe your confidence attracts others to you.  Maybe others can genuinely tell you love them.  Maybe they feel sorry for you.  (Hey, I'm just sayin...)  Maybe it's because you're a great story teller.  Maybe you're an encourager.  Maybe you share common experiences. 


I don't know what it is, but whatever IT is...is important.  Identify that & develop it.  Know that THAT is what YOU bring to the table.  Feed it.  Maximize it.  Strengthen it.  Make that "gift" to them, your friends, even better, even sweeter, even more special. 


Just think...you're like a big giant fingerprint.  You know, there are no two fingerprints alike...which is absolutely mind boggling to even think about.  Wow...talk about a Creative Designer/Manufacturer.  That's just amazing to me that God makes everyone SO incredibly unique.  Hmmm...but, that's the whole point...there is no 'fingerprint'...there is NO human bean (that's how little kids say it) out there in the history of the universe that's JUST LIKE YOU!!!  Wow...that's flat out uhMAZING!!!!  Take a scoop full of seconds to think about that!!  Now you KNOW you've got to have some unique qualities about you...b/c God didn't make ANYONE else on the planet like you!  You are different...in a good way...(not in a Rainman sort of way.)  You ARE a gift.  A one-of-a-kind.  A series number of "1".  You are a big giant fingerprint.  (Well, some of us are "bigger" fingerprints than others...)  :-)  But you are unique!  You absolutely bring something to the table that others are actually incapable of bringing to the table--at least not exactly the way YOU would do it.  You have immeasurable value.


Here's another way to look at it:  (quick homework)  Write down a list of your top 5-10 friends and then next to their names, write why you appreciate them.  (C'mon, gee whiz, kids, it'll take you a max of 5 min to do a 'rough' list.  Go for it.)  Do you see any trends?  Who do you have surrounding you?  Why are they your friends?  What do you have in common?  Why do you appreciate them--individually & collectively?


Now...really take a minute to observe the "gift" inside others...some of the ones you may have just identified above.  What makes your closest friends unique?  What makes them special?  Why do you enjoy their company?  When you do make time, why do you find it worth your while to make time for them?  Why? 


Now, as mentioned in a previous post of mine in this blog...have you told them lately why you appreciate them?  Or, even better, have you written it down in either an email or letter why you appreciate them?  Do it.  No kidding.  Do it.  How long is it honestly gonna take you to do that?  Even if it takes you 10 or 20 min to write a sincere, genuine "No-kidding-here's-why-I-really-love-and-appreciate-you" letter for each one of your closest friends, it will be absolutely worth it.  And, I can almost guarantee that it will be a gesture that they will take with them like their closest travel campanion every where they go for the rest of their lives!  You don't think so...ok, let me ask you this: How many people have ever taken the time to write YOU a letter like that...in your lifetime?  And if you ARE one of the lucky ones (which would still be in the very, very small minority) to receive such an amazing gift from someone, you can probably count on ONE hand the number of letters you've received like that.  So...it's just a hunch, but you probably still remember it.  Well...give THAT gift to someone else this Christmas or New Years...or this Tuesday...or Friday...or this day that ends in "y".


One last "soapbox thought" on this one: What is probably THE biggest thing that the VAST majority of people feel when someone close to them dies?  "I didn't tell them how I truly felt about them." Or, "Man, we never got closure to the loose ends in our relationship."  Don't be that person that experiences that.  Make the investment.  When it all comes down to it, we can only control what we can control.  Make the effort.  Take the step.  Bust out the paper & pen or jump down on your laptop & start writing/typing the first words.  Tie up those loose ends.  We don't know when our "number is up" in the grand scheme of things.


Even before you open up all those Christmas presents on Friday, Dec 25th, know that you are already surrounded by "gifts" from God.  Tell both the "real deal" Santa Claus (i.e.: God...not some dude named St. Nick) and the "gift"..."Thank you."  Tell both the Giver & the gift why you're so appreciative of them.

And, finally, understand, remember...that you are ALSO a gift.  An amazing gift made by an amazing Gift-Maker filled with all kinds of whiz-bang skills, talents, heart and abilities made w/the specific intent to be a blessing to everyone around you.  Use your gift.  Today, tomorrow, & every day you blink open those wonderful eyes of yours.

Merry Christmas.

You...are a gift.

Thank you.

Go.

Do.

Pursue.

Take the 1st step.