They say that it is not the gift that matters but indeed the thought that counts! Clearly, this would be an easy way out in my never-ending plight to hunt for a (decent if not perfect) gift for A. But then a serious problem arises when there is a greater mismatch between the thoughts and the gifts per se. I mean, if this were true then I could really just express what I ‘thought’ of gifting him – saving myself the trouble of the larger issue. Or simpler still, thanks to the virtual realities we live in, use the Facebook gifts option (oh gosh, that would be terrible indeed!). So I wonder if it is merely the ‘thought’ of the gift or the entire package – the thought, the intention, the actual gift.
Now do not get me wrong here. I love to gift; love the ‘thought’ of gifting and the entire process involved right from ‘shopping’ around town (or better still, creating something from sctrach), making sure it is the right match, to the funky wrapping, ensuring there is enough gag-ness to it and the works. HOWEVER, the problem lies when deciding what to get especially with the D-Day fast approaching. So as I near the deadline, the struggle currently lies in whether to gift something:
1. that is top-of-the-line product one is sure to like (boring?)
2. I 'know' he wants (quite predictable)
3. I 'think' he needs (dangerous)
4. I 'know' he needs (boring again)
5. I like and hence he may like it too (assumptions are not healthy)
Or 6. I like and hence get it so I could use it too (perfect)
While this dilemma is endless, the question really is whether the thought matters more than the gift. I would say the thought is as important as the gift. In a way, we humans live in a cycle of give-and-take and are genetically programmed to be touched by receiving gifts - irrespective of occasions - to love, cherish and enjoy.
I mean, seriously, the element of pleasure and surprises we revel in when someone showers us with gift, no matter what the occasion, is priceless as opposed to when someone told you I 'thought' of getting 'x' for you but could not do so which may be sweet but not as exciting. Also, age must have something to do with the way we perceive gifting. As a kid, the concept of gifts (both, receiving and giving) was much much much more thrilling and sort of intellectually stimulating as opposed to the brain-dead that exists as we move out of childhood (that would be my present status). Yet, somewhere deep down there do exist those 'memories' of gifts in the past where the thought indeed mattered and it is those moments that naturally trigger our innate being. So the intermix of thought, love and 'action' is what goes into a gift and that matters most to me when gift-hunting. But my search to gift A still continues...