Giving the Gift of Full Presence
http://www.refresher.com/mindfulnetwork/articlelive/articles/144/1/Giving-the-Gift-of-Full-Presence/Page1.html
Jamie Walters
Jamie Walters is an inspired 'creative inquirist', transformation guide, inspiration catalyst, and "prophet of an emerging new economy of intelligent, caring, cutting edge entrepreneurs.She is the founder of Ivy Sea, Inc., author of Big Vision, Small Business the handbook for conscious SOHO/Solo enterprise published by Berrett-Koehler — and Leading at the Visionary Edge (forthcoming from ICFAI University Press). She is also the creatrix of Ivy Sea Online.
Jamie integrates her professional / business experience with her energy, shamanic, and Indigenous Wisdom training, to help individuals and organizations cultivate vision, intuition, creativity, and other innate and unique gifts, and apply them in the workplace and other areas of life.
This liberation of this innate 'genius' supports skillful communication, transformation, conscious business,and a meaningful, purpose-aligned way of being and working.
Visit Ivy Sea Online.
By Jamie Walters
Published on 12/10/2008
One gift that we can offer to others is the gift of our full presence -- being fully present with and for another. Deeply listening, looking for and receiving the very best within them, and being open-hearted and kind.
Giving the Gift of Full Presence
As I was sitting in a local park, enjoying the unusual late-November sunshine in San Francisco, a 30-something fellow on an adjacent bench suddenly started speaking of his growing frustration with the stress of the holiday.
He told me that he really enjoyed Thanksgiving, because it was about getting together with family and friends, enjoying one another's company and conversation, and having fun preparing and sharing a meal.
He then continued on, saying "I've really started to hate Christmas, with its emphasis on corporate marketing, consuming, and 'never enough'." He told me that while he enjoyed Thanksgiving, he almost immediately started to feel stress about the demands and expectations attached to Christmas. He had more to say, but the gist was that one holiday focused on togetherness, giving and sharing; while another focused on buying, consuming, and 'never enough.'
Whatever holidays you celebrate at this time of the year, and however you observe or celebrate them, there is a choice between deeper meaning and enjoyment, and the stress that seems to go hand-in-hand with the pressure to 'keep up' with consumption.
One gift that we can offer to others is the gift of our full presence -- being fully present with and for another. Deeply listening, looking for and receiving the very best within them, and being open-hearted and kind. Very often we're scattered, stressed and truly not present at all. Even though our body might be in the same room, our hearts and minds are elsewhere. So the gift of full presence can be an amazing gift!
When we're fully present, we connect with the sacred within ourselves and reflect that to another, honoring their sacredness. If someone has prepared a meal, we're present to it, savoring it, honoring the time and effort that it's taken, and the gift to us that it is. If someone shares a story, we listen fully, receiving that part of them, and honoring them by seeing and hearing them.
Intend to give the gift of presence this holiday season. Slow down, and follow the advice to 'be where you are' and be there fully. It's a practice, and given the busy 'multi-tasker' norm for many of us, it's a challenging practice. And yet the gift of it is beyond measure.
Full presence is a rich gift, indeed, and one that feels fantastic to give!
He told me that he really enjoyed Thanksgiving, because it was about getting together with family and friends, enjoying one another's company and conversation, and having fun preparing and sharing a meal.
He then continued on, saying "I've really started to hate Christmas, with its emphasis on corporate marketing, consuming, and 'never enough'." He told me that while he enjoyed Thanksgiving, he almost immediately started to feel stress about the demands and expectations attached to Christmas. He had more to say, but the gist was that one holiday focused on togetherness, giving and sharing; while another focused on buying, consuming, and 'never enough.'
Whatever holidays you celebrate at this time of the year, and however you observe or celebrate them, there is a choice between deeper meaning and enjoyment, and the stress that seems to go hand-in-hand with the pressure to 'keep up' with consumption.
One gift that we can offer to others is the gift of our full presence -- being fully present with and for another. Deeply listening, looking for and receiving the very best within them, and being open-hearted and kind. Very often we're scattered, stressed and truly not present at all. Even though our body might be in the same room, our hearts and minds are elsewhere. So the gift of full presence can be an amazing gift!
When we're fully present, we connect with the sacred within ourselves and reflect that to another, honoring their sacredness. If someone has prepared a meal, we're present to it, savoring it, honoring the time and effort that it's taken, and the gift to us that it is. If someone shares a story, we listen fully, receiving that part of them, and honoring them by seeing and hearing them.
Intend to give the gift of presence this holiday season. Slow down, and follow the advice to 'be where you are' and be there fully. It's a practice, and given the busy 'multi-tasker' norm for many of us, it's a challenging practice. And yet the gift of it is beyond measure.
Full presence is a rich gift, indeed, and one that feels fantastic to give!