‘Tis the season of giving. Of making lists, scouring stores, waiting in long lines, and hauling home bags weighed down with fashionable clothes and trendy gadgets. The frenzied consumerism that has come to characterize the winter holidays in the United States leaves some feeling cynical about the season. And for good reason: many of us will spend well beyond our means, plunging ourselves even deeper into debt and adding stress to our already stressed-out lives.

And yet . . .

Isn’t it a joy to find that perfect something special for someone you love? Or to hand over a plateful of treats to a wide-eyed child? Although there is plenty to criticize about holiday giving, there is also much to praise. Among its virtues is the reminder that it is indeed more blessed to give than to receive.

So give all you can this Christmas—not just material gifts, but also intangible ones: a word of encouragement to a tired coworker; a place in line to a fellow shopper; a kind smile to a stranger on the street; a compliment to a spouse; a visit with a lonely neighbor.

If giving really was all we had this holiday season, it would be more than enough reason to celebrate, wouldn’t it?

When Giving Is All We Have

by Alberto Ríos

One river gives
Its journey to the next.

We give because someone gave to us.
We give because nobody gave to us.

We give because giving has changed us.
We give because giving could have changed us.

We have been better for it,
We have been wounded by it—

Giving has many faces: It is loud and quiet,
Big, though small, diamond in wood-nails.

Its story is old, the plot worn and the pages too,
But we read this book, anyway, over and again:

Giving is, first and every time, hand to hand,
Mine to yours, yours to mine.

You gave me blue and I gave you yellow.
Together we are simple green. You gave me

What you did not have, and I gave you
What I had to give—together, we made

Something greater from the difference.

From the collection, A Small Story about the Sky.