Give Enduring Gifts

Just thinking about "Black Friday" gives me brain-shivers. Our antidote to traffic snarls and short-tempered shoppers? We put our money where our values are by making donations in friends' or family members' names to worthy organizations: saving polar bears, stopping torture, defending free speech, supporting education, protecting wilderness ... . Gone the wasted gas and frayed tempers. Finally. Gifts that really do keep on giving. On the receiving end, our friends and relations love being part of something larger than themselves, too. Yes, even the little kids (and, inevitably, they'll get too much stuff anyway).

In place of imported gew-gaws and re-giftables, manic shopping and depression, this alternative also liberates us in other ways. First, there's Friday itself. It's now free for authentic pleasures instead of mindless and harried consuming. That's been especially important to us the years we've had visitors at our Thanksgiving table. An extra day to enjoy being together!

And I genuinely rejoice in all the ancillary ways this contributes to my beloved Earth, starting with the countless ways that we reduce our own carbon footprint: from all the energy it takes to produce, ship and deliver "stuff" to a notable conservation of my own energy. And no more bad karma from getting and wrapping and shipping stacks of things I really didn't like all that much in the first place, but felt I had to "give something". Gone.

Some years we choose one organization, other years we specific contributions honor particular individuals. The list of worthy organizations is the easy part, this year more than most: the local Food Bank or Amnesty International, Environmental Defense, Defenders of Wildlife or National Resource Defense Council, Southern Education Foundation or an alma mater (selectively).

So here's a toast to winter holidays! They're now a whole lot more jolly than the guaranteed frustration that begins with finding a parking place in a noisy and overcrowded mall.


Our "Conversations with People at the Leading Edge" bring you lots of new ways to rethink worn out habits. You'll find video excerpts on YouTube (look for "sunlightoxygen") and complete audio programs on our PaulaGordon.com website.

Comments

[Kassandra]

I've been advising enduring gifts also, with a slightly different twist; well made clothes and shoes especially. You can find lots of American made stuff on ebay that won't fall apart like the Walmart stuff does after two-three months. Blankets are good too.

We may not have another chance, so buy smart.

[Leedox]

Thanks Paula. This year for Xmas presents (we don't have Thanksgiving in Australia) I bought 6 chickens, one sports kit and a reforestation kit with Worldvision. I feel much better about all my gifts this year and I know that I am helping people at the same time as delighting my family.

[MsCanadian]

Good for you Paula! Why anyone in their right mind would want to waste a good day off in the shopping centres is beyond me! Lovely to spend the day relaxing and doing something more enjoyable than fighting off rabid crowds of consumers, LOL. Our culture really needs to "get a life."

[EtOH]

God love you for your altruism, but man I have to admit you’re post was (how do I say this nicely) trying. Do I have to start giving out cards that announce I’ve just given to UNICEF in my Sectret Santa’s name and get the same looks I gave when my Aunt gave me a pair of socks for Christmas? I know I needed them, I know they kept my feet warm, but socks….for Christmas? Paula I know what your doing it’s the right thing to do, I know I need to save the planet. You’re absolutely doing the best thing for your fellow man…but can’t I enjoy the unadulterated greed and consumerism of the Holidays just a few more years? Do I have to be reminded of what an overindulged lazy slob I am and just have a piece of mincemeat pie?

Commenter’s don’t beat me up on this too much. I admit that we should all follow Paula’s example, I just can’t shake the consumerism habit. Help me Paula! Help me!

[DavidFinke]

Yaaay, Paula & Bill!
You can send me a Polar Bear just any time. Like we sent Bill a fraction of a Llama a while back... or was it a Yak?
Folks at THE HEIFER PROJECT make it so easy. (Even if you can't click through right here, it's easy to remember: www.heifer.org -- just don't put two "F's" in Heifer.)
And for those who want to be super-generous and show how much loot they have left to spread around charitably even after portfolio plummetting, they can buy a whole "Noah's Ark" of animals to help 3rd-world families get a living, breathing, ongoing domestic animal to raise their income in a sustainable way. Go take a look.
All from the comfort of home and your computer, and NO parking hassles!
Good message, folks. -DHF