Stressed about gift-giving? You’re not alone. Millions of other people are right there with you!?With so many shoppers worrying about what they’re giving to whom for the holidays – not to mention the very real problem of people spending more than they can afford – gift-giving is not always as easy and straightforward as we’d like.
Here’s a bit of insight that might help. Should we focus on gifts which money can’t buy – as this one-minute UpWorthy clip does, in asking passersby what non-material items they wish for? Perhaps…
The video strikes a chord with me, both because of the obvious sincerity of the people answering, and because of how many answers are actually dollar-dependent: From housing to employment to salary scale — money not only plays a part in these things, it is fundamental.
That said, all these folks are onto something that might help us all relax a bit during this peak spending period. Before worrying about the cost of a potential expense, consider first what it is you hope to accomplish with the money you’re contemplating spending.
When we lose the link between the material things in life and our aspirational/spiritual ideals, it’s hard to maximize either.
It’s not that money is bad, or even that things which people think are unrelated to money are necessarily superior. Indeed, when we lose the link between the material things in life and our aspirational/spiritual ideals, it becomes hard to maximize either.
It isn’t so much about what money can or can’t buy, but about each of us reconnecting to what we really want. Is it support, laughter, serenity, excitement? Sometimes money really can buy those things, and sometimes not.
For a bit of relief from all the gift-giving “issues” you may be experiencing this month, maybe the key is to ask yourself in the simplest possible terms: What is it you really want? Identify the answer, and you’ll see there’s probably a variety of ways to obtain it, and to give it, as well.
Listed for many years in Newsweek as one of America’s “50 Most Influential Rabbis” and recognized as one of our nation’s leading “Preachers and Teachers,” by Beliefnet.com, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield serves as the President of Clal–The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, a training institute, think tank, and resource center nurturing religious and intellectual pluralism within the Jewish community, and the wider world, preparing people to meet the biggest challenges we face in our increasingly polarized world.
An ordained Orthodox rabbi who studied for his PhD and taught at The Jewish Theological Seminary, he has also taught the University of Pennsylvania, where he directs an ongoing seminar, and American Jewish University. Rabbi Brad regularly teaches and consults for the US Army and United States Department of Defense, religious organizations — Jewish and Christian — including United Seminary (Methodist), Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (Modern Orthodox) Luther Seminary (Lutheran), and The Jewish Theological Seminary (Conservative) — civic organizations including No Labels, Odyssey Impact, and The Aspen Institute, numerous Jewish Federations, and a variety of communal and family foundations.
Hirschfield is the author and editor of numerous books, including You Don’t Have To Be Wrong For Me To Be Right: Finding Faith Without Fanaticism, writes a column for Religion News Service, and appears regularly on TV and radio in outlets ranging from The Washington Post to Fox News Channel. He is also the founder of the Stand and See Fellowship, which brings hundreds of Christian religious leaders to Israel, preparing them to address the increasing polarization around Middle East issues — and really all currently polarizing issues at home and abroad — with six words, “It’s more complicated than we know.”