An evening by the water, watching the reflections of the golden sun ripple through the waves. The flutter of a bird’s wing tickles my ear. As I reflect on my day/life, similar to the sun, my soul feels golden and peaceful.
I challenge you to provide me with a material object that gives you that same sense of peace.
Shared laughter with friends, a pontoon dance party, lunch at the lake. A blissful day of celebration with a night of games on its heels.
Give me something that provokes that happiness.
When I think about situations where giving a gift is “expected” I get tense. I was never blessed with that “gift-giving” gene that gave you the sense to intuitively know what to go buy for someone. What usually ended up happening was a gift card purchase or buying the exact thing they asked me to get for them. BOOOOO-RING!
That’s when I stopped buying “stuff”. I started buying tickets to shows, giftcards for airlines, brewery passports, and weekend getaways. Not only were these gifts unexpected by the recipients, but they sparked excitement.
You see, it’s scientifically proven that frequent social interactions lead to a longer, healthier life by releasing stress-reducing hormones. Not to mention the memories you make with someone lead to storytelling, conversation and connection in future social situations.
So, alright. By purchasing an experience to share with a loved one I’m connecting with them, building memories, and helping them live a higher quality life? What better gift could I give?!
And I’m not the only one who’s feeling this way.
Airbnb provides Experiences for those interested in seeing a city through someone else’s eyes. You can sign up to do something as simple as a group hike on a local trail, to going on a safari in the Galapagos Islands. AND they’re financially accessible. They also provide non-profits with an opportunity to build social impact experiences for people who want to make a difference.
Bars are hosting more trivia nights,
Show me a “thing” that does THAT.
I don’t apologize for prioritizing people over objects. Thomas Gilovich explains:
One of the enemies of happiness is adaptation. We buy things to make us happy, and we succeed. But only for a while. New things are exciting to us at first, but then we adapt to them.”
Maybe it makes me a bad birthday party guest, or the “Secret Santa” participant nobody wants to get, but I’m okay with that. Connecting with each other socially, beyond social media, is what makes us humans, HUMAN.
No-thing can replace that.
