Author: Heather Ann Koehn, Founder of Divine Black Sheep
Photographer Heather Ann Koehn, The Redwoods of Humboldt County
Have you ever offered someone a gift who had no idea of its value?
You knew they did not fully understand because of how they expressed their gratitude or the laissez-faire way they discarded or even embraced the gift. This is a good moment to pause and try to recognize when you have received a gift or an experience from someone but did not fully realize the transformational value until you were in the midst of it.
It was this powerful thing for you that made you different from others, gave you a different perspective, offered you a greater sense of self, belief, or even offered you a different perspective on the world through new shared experiences and friendships. It might have been a thing, a widget that was extended to you, but you only came to know its true value in light of understanding the sacrifice or the high value and meaning held by the person extending it to you. This piece was a representation of the high value, the high esteem this person gifting it had for you, your persona, your essence - the you, you that few see.
If you are ever in the moment of receiving a gift of a thing or, better yet, an experience, pause first to try to understand the value it holds for the person extending it to you. Ask yourself why they are offering to share this thing of value with you. Is it an exchange of obligatory niceties? Is it something they value? Or will the thing develop you, mature and evolve who you are? Is it their purposeful attempt to help expand your circle of experience, knowledge, joy, and beauty? If it’s the latter, you might decide to pause a little longer, smile a little larger, and ask a few questions about the meaning of the gift for the giver. That meaning will help you cherish the gift that much more or understand the impact of the discard. People are in our lives temporarily. Cherish them. Which ones? Only you know. If you are living too fast, you will never know.
Everything is temporary; presence is fleeting. Think back again about that person who had a transformational impact on your life. Did you know from the get-go they would? If yes, do share, how so? It’s rare and almost impossible to know who will have the greatest impact. This is the person that made you greater than you thought you could be by any measure. They gifted you a thing or an experience that made you more loving, more respectful, humble, powerful, and influential through experience itself, or the use of the thing, the widget, the inanimate.
When a person steps forward, know that at that moment, you likely lack the perspective to fully see the impact they will have. People are often introduced to us early on, and some of the most tightly knit, strongest impacts boomerang back as we progress through life.
Your people help you create your life. Their gifts to you are meaningful. More meaningful than you may fully understand in the moment. Just recognize that not every gift opens fully upon receipt.
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