What our gifts reveal about our emotional relationships, Christophe André’s view

Traceability: Not very pretty, this technical term describes the possibility of knowing where the things we consume or use come from! Not very pretty, and yet valuable for not eating anything, not buying items that harm the planet or harm other humans.

But I’d like to talk to you here about another form of traceability: emotional, emotional traceability, and especially, since ’tis the season, of gifts! Of course, what impresses us about a gift is not only its value, but also the intention it conveys.

A personalized gift, the most beautiful gift of all?

Thus, the gifts that children give us – pictures, objects made at school or made by themselves at home, even small gifts bought with their pocket money – these childish gifts serve us for their intended purpose. Takes you somewhere further. And our feelings will often be reborn when we encounter them later.

This is what we call the afterglow, this partial persistence of an event after its cause has faded: the gift reminds us of the affection that surrounds its gift even years later. This is also true for gifts between adults. A friend gives me a nice bottle of wine, my partner gives me a scarf or socks.

Objects are “connected” to others

The day I open and drink this bottle, I will think of my friend even more sentimentally than I would have if I had purchased it myself; If I want him to, he’ll be with me with every sip. When I pick up this scarf one winter day, I will think of the softness of my partner, who chose to protect me from the cold with a beautiful object.

It is a great pleasure to grow in the world of connected things; Not electronic objects, but objects associated with the affection of other human beings, loved ones, friends, colleagues. It is the joy of feeling connected all the time with the people who matter to us.

Weaving Invisible Bonds Through Gifts

Exercise wherever you are: If you’re at home, lift your head and look around you at objects that have been offered, given, or bequeathed to you. If you’re not home, ask yourself questions about your clothes, the items in your pockets, your bag; Or think of your living room, your bedroom and the inhabited and connected objects that fill them and silently transmit benevolent whispers to you.

This precious world of invisible links does not always impose itself on us, we must regularly bring it back to life, reappear in our eyes and mind. But he is always with us. We need this world of meaning and connection. We are never alone, we are always surrounded by benevolent ghosts; Maybe they even keep an eye on us, who knows?

Also read: What your Christmas gifts say about your personality.