In ‘Re-gifters’, a girl who has a crush on a guy buys him a special present. However, he doesn’t appreciates it, and re-gifts it to another girl of his interest instead. When the first girl discovered this, she became outraged and ‘declares war’ on him – after she receives it back as a ‘recycled’ gift from another guy, who got it via the second girl’s brother! Do we really give gifts away when we physically appear to? Or do we only think we do? How do you know if you have indeed given a gift away both physically or mentally – for good? We might truly know this only when the recipient shows no appreciation for the gift or even give it away!
Would we be angry for the lack of gratitude, or regretful of having given in the first place? If we have really given it away totally, with body and mind, how the person handles the gift wouldn’t matter one bit – because that gift is no longer ours. There would be no expectations or conditions.
On giving gifts, what’s really totally ours that we truly own, that we can truly give anyway? If the self is ultimately illusory, possessions of this self are likewise so. The universe actually operates selflessly, as an ‘inter-web’, with constant ‘re-gifting’ of physical elements within it. It is this unceasing exchange that makes interaction and life itself possible. In the story, since the girl got her gift ‘recycled’ back to her, she actually lost nothing other than her pride!
Related Article:
A Magical Story about Caring for the Earth
http://moonpointer.com/new/2009/05/a-magical-story-about-caring-for-the-earth
What an amusing story!
She actually has gained in this process:
1. Gained some knowlege of the people around her;
2. Gained back a gift, which she can re-gift yet again;
I don’t think her pride is lost or diminished significantly-
sounds like she lost her temper more than her pride.
Giving a gift is a momentary connection between two people.
That connection still happened at that moment, regardless
of what happens to the physical gift at some point in the
future, or from whence the gift came from in the past.
Regifting is a great way to recycle, and save the Earth!
(She should be happy that her crush was so Earth-concious)
Great points! In the story, when she received her recycled gift, she smashed it up! What wastage of an innocent gift that can be re-gifted!
She lost her temper because her pride was hurt. But that’s unnecessary cos it was a result of clinging.