I love getting presents!
Don't get me wrong, I love giving presents too; to my kids, my family, my friends (cash flow willing), but I absolutely adore being given presents! I think a lot of society makes it "wrong" to enjoy the finer things in life - and that's a term I use in relative terms, what's luxury for one may not be for another - but we sometimes scoff at people who are more well off than ourselves, like they should be ashamed of their success. I know a lot of people think that people like the Kardashians should be kicked in the street because they haven't done anything "worthy" of their celebrity status, but I think a lot of that is jealousy and quite frankly, I enjoy watching the stuff such as Keeping Up With... I find it entertaining and a fun way to pass the time - and I like to think that one day I'll be able to go to Aruba on a whim.
I went to an assembly at my children's school last Easter, and the kids in the top year (of primary school) had written a poem of sorts, which was child-like, cute, pretty good, except for when they got to a rather creepy cult-ish part, "Forgive us for being selfish". This, from a bunch of nine year olds, struck me as rather sad. The poem went on with a few more unsavoury thoughts, which I found quite awful and which pretty much said (in not so many words) "Forgive us for being children". Kids love Christmas, well, the ones that are fortunate enough to experience it in the way in which it should be experienced i.e., full of love, laughter, some decent food and a few gifts (or for some children, a lorryload). It seems as if it's being drilled into children from an early age not to be "selfish", not to want things and not to love getting gifts at Christmas! Christmas is about giving, I agree, but it is definitely about getting too. Or else, we would all be so caught up in being bothered about how much we loved giving our presents to others, that we'd never enjoy the ones we were getting! I realise this is getting a little confusing now, but my point is that getting presents is a hugely enjoyable experience, providing you are opening a much longed for item and not some crappy novelty gift - I genuinely hate novelty gifts, a complete waste of money if you ask me.
It's not a bad thing to be selfish sometimes, you have to take time for yourself, you have to say "no" sometimes - you have to ensure that you are happy. And if you're not, you have to take the time to change things, to think about what will make you happy. Happiness isn't a destination, it's a journey and it has it's ups and downs, I don't think anyone could say that they were happy all the times - I think you might become a bit odd if you were floating on cloud 9 twenty four hours a day. Ultimately, being selfish isn't always a terrible trait, and it's about time we stopped trying to make people think it is.
To revert to my earlier thoughts; I love things! I love good clothes, handbags, shoes, sunglasses, even things such as suitcases, posters, magazine holders even! That's not to say I can afford all this stuff, in fact I often pay over the odds buying things from the catalogue, just so I can pay for things over 20 weeks! Watching Sex & The City makes me drool, Manolos, Gucci, SJPs vintage (faux) fur coat - I love it all, I want it all! I used to feel guilty for loving "things" so much, I know that there is little, if any spiritual enlightenment to be gained from buying a pair of Ray Bans, or from owning a Radley handbag or from a pair of Kurt Geiger heels, but oh my goodness, I do so enjoy buying a new item, one on which I will dote for a good while. It's not a long-lived buzz, granted, although I still get a kick out of my beautiful kick ass Carvela platform ankle boots and from my oversized Marc Jacobs sunnies. I don't (currently) have a lot of cash, but I like nice things, and I shouldn't have to apologise for that, in fact I don't even know who I think it is that's waiting for an apology from me... In fact, it's probably myself and my Catholic guilt (no, I'm not a Catholic, but I think I could be, I can do the guilt thing like a pro).
So take some time for yourself and whilst you're at it, buy yourself a present. If you think about it, you'll probably realise that you're worth it.
Don't get me wrong, I love giving presents too; to my kids, my family, my friends (cash flow willing), but I absolutely adore being given presents! I think a lot of society makes it "wrong" to enjoy the finer things in life - and that's a term I use in relative terms, what's luxury for one may not be for another - but we sometimes scoff at people who are more well off than ourselves, like they should be ashamed of their success. I know a lot of people think that people like the Kardashians should be kicked in the street because they haven't done anything "worthy" of their celebrity status, but I think a lot of that is jealousy and quite frankly, I enjoy watching the stuff such as Keeping Up With... I find it entertaining and a fun way to pass the time - and I like to think that one day I'll be able to go to Aruba on a whim.
I went to an assembly at my children's school last Easter, and the kids in the top year (of primary school) had written a poem of sorts, which was child-like, cute, pretty good, except for when they got to a rather creepy cult-ish part, "Forgive us for being selfish". This, from a bunch of nine year olds, struck me as rather sad. The poem went on with a few more unsavoury thoughts, which I found quite awful and which pretty much said (in not so many words) "Forgive us for being children". Kids love Christmas, well, the ones that are fortunate enough to experience it in the way in which it should be experienced i.e., full of love, laughter, some decent food and a few gifts (or for some children, a lorryload). It seems as if it's being drilled into children from an early age not to be "selfish", not to want things and not to love getting gifts at Christmas! Christmas is about giving, I agree, but it is definitely about getting too. Or else, we would all be so caught up in being bothered about how much we loved giving our presents to others, that we'd never enjoy the ones we were getting! I realise this is getting a little confusing now, but my point is that getting presents is a hugely enjoyable experience, providing you are opening a much longed for item and not some crappy novelty gift - I genuinely hate novelty gifts, a complete waste of money if you ask me.
It's not a bad thing to be selfish sometimes, you have to take time for yourself, you have to say "no" sometimes - you have to ensure that you are happy. And if you're not, you have to take the time to change things, to think about what will make you happy. Happiness isn't a destination, it's a journey and it has it's ups and downs, I don't think anyone could say that they were happy all the times - I think you might become a bit odd if you were floating on cloud 9 twenty four hours a day. Ultimately, being selfish isn't always a terrible trait, and it's about time we stopped trying to make people think it is.
To revert to my earlier thoughts; I love things! I love good clothes, handbags, shoes, sunglasses, even things such as suitcases, posters, magazine holders even! That's not to say I can afford all this stuff, in fact I often pay over the odds buying things from the catalogue, just so I can pay for things over 20 weeks! Watching Sex & The City makes me drool, Manolos, Gucci, SJPs vintage (faux) fur coat - I love it all, I want it all! I used to feel guilty for loving "things" so much, I know that there is little, if any spiritual enlightenment to be gained from buying a pair of Ray Bans, or from owning a Radley handbag or from a pair of Kurt Geiger heels, but oh my goodness, I do so enjoy buying a new item, one on which I will dote for a good while. It's not a long-lived buzz, granted, although I still get a kick out of my beautiful kick ass Carvela platform ankle boots and from my oversized Marc Jacobs sunnies. I don't (currently) have a lot of cash, but I like nice things, and I shouldn't have to apologise for that, in fact I don't even know who I think it is that's waiting for an apology from me... In fact, it's probably myself and my Catholic guilt (no, I'm not a Catholic, but I think I could be, I can do the guilt thing like a pro).
So take some time for yourself and whilst you're at it, buy yourself a present. If you think about it, you'll probably realise that you're worth it.
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