Dear Reader:
Two Christmases ago I got this beautifully wrapped gift from Mandy and John which Mandy decorated. It had the softest red blanket in the bucket with several other smaller accessories. It was wrapped so elegantly I didn’t want to open it because it was my prettiest decoration/ornament left over after the holidays.
I had the gift for about two weeks when Mandy called and asked if I had opened their gift. I confessed that I had not…and why. It was too pretty and when folks dropped by they all commented on it. “Well I think you want to open it mom because there is a gift card in there that would really come in handy with the after Christmas sales.” I opened it. She was right! 🙂
I wish I could wrap gift items in a pretty way, but I am all fingers, thumbs, and stuck scotch tape. So I find myself choosing gifts that I give friends…as much for the wrapping… as the gift itself. I gravitate to the store that will wrap a purchase worthy of “ooh’s and aah’s.”
There is a certain (if not large) amount of truth in the adage: “It’s all in the presentation or the packaging.”
This is true about so many situations in life. We all might be packaged differently but under the wrapping…beats the same heart and soul and dreams of another fellow man.
It is also true that when it comes to solving problems…we each unwrap a problem that arises in different ways…based on our unique perceptions of the world and life.
In correlation to these thoughts on diversity in packaging…Madisyn Taylor wrote these personal observations on the subject called: Life Packaging.Â
BY
We are all spiritual beings living in a human body; even though our packaging seems different, we are very much the same.
“We have all had the experience of encountering someone whose life seems so completely different from ours that we can almost imagine we have nothing in common. However, if we go deeper into observing, we will see that we all have the same things going on in our lives. It is as if our different lives are in essence the same gift, wrapped in an infinite variety of containers, wrapping paper, ribbons, and bows. Everybody experiences loss, grief, happiness, excitement, anger, and fear. Everyone can have money issues of one kind or another, and everyone struggles with difficult choices.Â
Our lives show up differently for each one of us because we each learn in different ways. One person may need to learn the value of money by having too little of it, while another may need to learn by having more than enough. We each learn about work and love, with experiences that are tailored to our particular perspective. Even as it appears that some people have it easy while others are in a continual state of struggle, the truth is that we are all learning, and it is very difficult to tell, when looking only at the exterior of a person, what’s going on inside.Â
This is one of the many things that can be so valuable about cultivating relationships with people from all walks of life. As we get to know those who seem so different from us, we get to really see how much of life’s challenges and joys are universal. We begin to look beyond the packaging of skin color, clothing preferences, and socioeconomic differences, hairstyles, and the cars we drive to the heart of the human experience. It is important to honor and value the differences in our packaging, but it is just as important to honor the gift of life inside each one of us, and the fact that, no matter how different the packaging, the gift inside is the same.“
So until tomorrow:
“Diversity is the one true thing we all have in common. Celebrate it every day. After all…It takes different flowers to create beauty in a bouquet.”“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh
Kaitlyn sent me these two photos from the wedding photographer as a sneak peep during the ceremony itself. (She and Tommy had a lot of time to kill spending most of the day yesterday…in the Charleston airport.
They tried to get to NYC earlier (Stand-by) since there was just a small amount of time between their scheduled flight there and the international flight to Ireland. But it didn’t happen. There was only one extra seat available…not two. So wait they did.
*But they made it anyway with a little time to spare! Have fun “Shamrock Swingers”!
ichaseferalcats
John Turner
Legally Ohm
Becky Dingle
I would have been like you…enjoyed the package. In fact, I get excited about the wrappings to the point that I often recycle them for later ….love the pictures. I can’t wait to hear all about the wedding. We have had each of the granddaughters by themselves, I am working for Jane Daffin some…and I am out of town every Tuesday and Wednesday thus far in May, so I hope for things to slow down soon. Love you.
Wow Ging- you are meeting yourself coming and going!