Something really good took place this week. I was unexpectedly given a bowl. The exciting thing about this is that the gift-giver had no idea about my current journey with bowls. Ah, surprises like this nourish my soul. Is it chance? Or is it synchronicity? And if it is the later, what does it mean?
This bowl is not the type of bowl I would choose for myself. The colors are not my favorite ones, the shape a bit too tall and a bit too deep, but because this bowl is a bowl and has come at this time in my life, it is perfect. Absolutely perfect. Its Autumnal colors (green, yellow, mutted red and orange) remind me of tall leaf piles, oak trees, and the deep October sun--all things I associate with home. And because it speaks so clearly of a place and time I long for, I know this bowl is about so much more than this physical world.
It is funny how one object can evoke so many different feelings and meet so many of my unmet needs. I feel affirmed, connected, and finally seen for who I truly am. Is the real me somehow reflected in this bowl? Is a portion of myself held in its shape and color? And what about the giver? What does it reveal about her?
Emerson once wrote, "the only gift is a portion of thyself." I have tried for years to understand this quote as a gift-giver. I have always understood this to mean that the gift reflects the giver, specifically what the giver can share with the receiver, but with this bowl, there is a reversal. With this bowl, I now see how the gift reflects the receiver as well. The perfect gift is when both the giver and the receiver are reflected in ways that we can't necessarily put into words. The gift reflects some inward grace, some unseen energy or spirit, some sense of openness, some different level of consciousness. The gift is an outward sign of something deeply holy.
I have received many gifts in my years that have been so off, so not me that I have wondered if the person even knows me. And yet, I am sure I have given gifts to family and friends and they have wondered what on earth I was thinking about when I choose a particular gift to send. While I believe and love the idea that gift giving is truly about intention and seeing the other while also giving from one's own abundance, it is so surprising when the gift hits the spot.
This bowl, my Autumnal bowl, surely hits the spot. In life there are no accidents, only synchronicity.
This bowl is not the type of bowl I would choose for myself. The colors are not my favorite ones, the shape a bit too tall and a bit too deep, but because this bowl is a bowl and has come at this time in my life, it is perfect. Absolutely perfect. Its Autumnal colors (green, yellow, mutted red and orange) remind me of tall leaf piles, oak trees, and the deep October sun--all things I associate with home. And because it speaks so clearly of a place and time I long for, I know this bowl is about so much more than this physical world.
It is funny how one object can evoke so many different feelings and meet so many of my unmet needs. I feel affirmed, connected, and finally seen for who I truly am. Is the real me somehow reflected in this bowl? Is a portion of myself held in its shape and color? And what about the giver? What does it reveal about her?
Emerson once wrote, "the only gift is a portion of thyself." I have tried for years to understand this quote as a gift-giver. I have always understood this to mean that the gift reflects the giver, specifically what the giver can share with the receiver, but with this bowl, there is a reversal. With this bowl, I now see how the gift reflects the receiver as well. The perfect gift is when both the giver and the receiver are reflected in ways that we can't necessarily put into words. The gift reflects some inward grace, some unseen energy or spirit, some sense of openness, some different level of consciousness. The gift is an outward sign of something deeply holy.
I have received many gifts in my years that have been so off, so not me that I have wondered if the person even knows me. And yet, I am sure I have given gifts to family and friends and they have wondered what on earth I was thinking about when I choose a particular gift to send. While I believe and love the idea that gift giving is truly about intention and seeing the other while also giving from one's own abundance, it is so surprising when the gift hits the spot.
This bowl, my Autumnal bowl, surely hits the spot. In life there are no accidents, only synchronicity.
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