To practice five things under all circumstances constitutes perfect virtue; these five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness.
- Confucius -
Today was a typical work day - I've been working on an Excel workbook for the last several days, I mighty big one, and it's been tedious with today being especially frustrating. But...Hmm, maybe I shouldn't call the day typical at all. It was a rather good day, if somewhat embarrassing. Here's why.
I'm one of those people who feels awkward receiving gifts. That stems from a few things back in my past when I was a kid which I'll not go into here; suffice it to say that I accept gifts with reluctance and a healthy dose of awkwardness. A
t work I recently went through a secret Santa debacle and have been feeling glad that that awkwardness is over for another year however today one of the office people came over to me with a Christmas gift bag and placed it on my desk. If you want to instantly make me feel awkward? Do what she did! [sigh]
I can't blame her though, it's only been about six weeks since I started at the company so they're not to know my idiosyncrasies just yet. Anyway, she waited there prompting me to delve inside. I did, expecting to find some ridiculous and unimaginative rubbish and...I did not. Instead I found three items, all tailored to me perfectly.
Those who know me know the way to my heart is through Lego Technic. This little set is not a 3000+ piece set like I'm used to building but it's very cool nonetheless. All Lego is cool. Trust me on that. It's just such a thoughtful gesture.
Vanilla is one of the most relaxing scents to me and I kind of like these oil-diffusers as they release a faint hint of scent throughout a room without over-powering it. Vanilla is a trigger-scent for me - It calms me, brings me to a place of peace and serenity. I love it.
I love cats also and these little cat cards with quotes on them appeal to that side of me. If you want to see me smile, I mean really smile, then you'll need to see me with my cat Cleo. I love her beyond the ability to describe and she never fails to put a smile on my face - Cats in general do that I guess.
I've only been with the company for several weeks and didn't expect such a thoughtful gift; I expected no gift at all as I'd already received a very nice gift box from the company. This gesture sort of blew me away - Not just that it was given to me, but the fact that it was thought about and tailored to me. Now the conversation I had several days ago about scents and perfumes makes total sense and the Lego and cat aspects have been garnered through general conversation. How nice that they actually listened!
Gift-giving should be spontaneous and genuine in my opinion and secret Santa shenanigans is not which is one of the reasons I hate it. This, on the other hand, is heartfelt, generous and very genuine gift-giving. It felt nice to receive these gifts, although still awkward of course. They say it's the thought that counts and I'd say, yep, it is indeed.
Have you ever taken it upon yourself to gift in this manner? Who was it and what did you get them and how did you find out what would suit them? Please feel free to comment below if you have the time, I'd love to read your story.
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised so be humble and kind
Discord: galenkp#9209
I photographed these images personally, with my phone, and my hand and my finger although I used my thumb for one of them, just for something different because variety is the spice of life don't you think?