My Love Don't Cost A Thing

Post #2

Gifts

According to Emerson, gifts should be given as something that “represent[s] your life and talent, [not] a goldsmith’s.” A gift instead of some pretty thing bought at a shop should be “a portion of thyself.” The monetary value of a gift does not matter, it is the thought behind the gift that counts, the “man’s biography [that] is conveyed in his gift.” Why are you giving this gift to this person? A gift must have meaning behind it and not bought just because it represents the material wealth of a person. As Emerson puts it, “Rings and other jewels are not gifts, but apologies for gifts.” Emerson feels that gifts should be received with neutrality. This is because he feels that if one receives a gift with joyous happiness, then it says that one loves the material item more than the person who gave it the gift. If one receives a gift with grief than it is disrespectful to the giver and it show that giver is not a true friend because he or she does not really know the receiver. Emerson believes that when giving a gift do not expect to receive one back, because than a gift is not really a gift, it is more of a debt that needs to repaid. He quotes the Buddhist who says, “Do not flatter your benefactors.” I completely agree with Emerson on this point of view. If your gift is a true gift than it is from the heart and does not need a repayment of any kind. Even your friends “eat your service like apples, and leave you out”, still “love them, and they feel you, and delight in you all the time.” Emerson is critiquing the differences between a true heartfelt gift versus the material or necessary gift. Even though necessity makes a great gift for a person in need, it is not an ideal gift because it causes the giver satisfaction. With satisfaction the giver feels superior to the receiver, and then the receiver becomes indebt to the giver. The best gift to give Emerson feels is one that contains a piece of oneself. It is not the material wealth of the gift that counts, but the love and compassion behind the gift.
If I followed the law of Emerson gift-giving, I feel that it would be easier to express true feelings for someone. My gifts would be more genuine and given from the heart. If the whole world followed Emerson’s rule of gift receiving and giving, I feel the world would be a better place. The world would be much happier and filled with more love than hate.
The closest thing to an “Emersonian” gift I have received was a metallic red stereo and a Baha Men CD for my ninth birthday. This gift was from my father and I loved it. I was totally surprised by this gift and it was just so unexpected because in our family we usually don’t get gifts for each other. I had never received a surprise gift for my birthday, Christmas, or any other holidays you get gifts for. I believe this was in 2003, when The Crocodile Hunter Movie just came out (RIP Steve Irwin) and the Baha Men did a song for the movie and I was completely obsessed with that song. One day my dad came home holding a large box, I thought it was just some of his office supplies, it shocked me when he said it was a birthday present for me. This was the first real birthday present I have ever received in my life. I say this is an “Emersonian” gift because my dad for the first time ever actually got me a present and surprised me with it. Even though, it’s not handmade, I know it was a gift true from my dad’s heart.