Do you notice the magnificence in your life? The daily miracles, the signs you’re making a difference? Unless it’s a specific, measurable result, we don’t. Sometimes, the greatest gifts and successes in our lives are the ones we cannot always, touch, measure or see.
One Sunday morning, as her father was reading the morning paper, his 10 year-old daughter, Angie, came to him with a box carefully wrapped, along with a beautiful, red ribbon on top. The daughter was excited to give this gift to her dad and said, “Daddy! Here! I made this gift just for you. Because I love you.”
Excitingly, she hands the gift to her dad. The dad looks at her, smiles warmly, and carefully begins to open the box, being mindful not to rip the ribbon, as well as the wrapping paper. It was clear that his daughter spent the time wrapping the box so that it looked perfect.
Her father unwrapped the box, took off the lid and smiled, as he looked inside. Surprisingly, he found nothing in it. The box was empty.
Angie’s father looked at her and said, “Angie, there’s nothing in here. The box is empty. Don’t you know that when you give a wrapped gift to someone, there is supposed to be something inside of it?”
His daughter thought for a second, looked at her dad and said, “Oh no daddy. It’s not empty. I blew kisses into it and filled the box with hundreds and hundreds of hugs and kisses. Just for you. That’s the present I wanted to give you. So you’ll always have my love with you when you need it.”
Angie’s dad gently wrapped his arms around his daughter and, with the warmest of hugs and and a tear in his eye from both joy and regret, apologized and thanked his daughter countless times.
“Sweetie, this is the best gift I’ve ever received. Thank you. I will cherish it always. And every time I feel I need some of your love, I will reach in, and take one of your kisses and hugs to make me the happiest person in the world.”
Angie’s dad kept the box of kisses on his desk, as a daily reminder of this important lesson, and how much love he has for his children, and the love they have for their dad.
This is my gift to you. I hope this story illustrates that, just be cause you can’t always see progress, growth or measure results, it doesn’t mean there aren’t the greatest gifts and priceless treasures all around you. The same ones that you can give to the people in your life. That’s the true gift.
It just takes effort to recognize these daily gifts that make life truly worthwhile. They are right in front of you. However, you can only recognize them if you are living in the present moment. That’s where every experience lives, every precious moment in time, and where your life happens.
