Boutiko is about giving. Giving to friends and family and giving to the wider world as much as possible, like ensuring fair pay and treatment for producers, or reusing and recycling to protect the planet and its wildlife. So I love it when I come across things like 29 Gifts.
Started by Cami Walker after a recommendation by her spiritual teacher that she give away one thing a day for 29 days as a way to cope with a very difficult time, 29gifts.org is a challenge that uses giving as a way to make the world a better place. After the 29 days of giving, she reports:
“By Day 29, I was astounded by the magical and miraculous shifts in my energy for life:
- I was feeling happier, healthier, and more in awe with life.
- I found myself smiling and laughing more.
- My body got stronger and I was able to stop walking with my cane by week two.
- My business exploded with new, unexpected opportunities amounting to more than $8,000 in unanticipated income for that one month.
- I began connecting with a community of new friends in Los Angeles after feeling isolated in my new home for several months.
- My creativity opened up and I began writing stories regularly again for the first time in over two years since my Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis.
- I began experiencing a deeper intimacy in my relationship with my husband.
The list of changes goes on and on. This is only the beginning.”
The gifts don’t have to be tangible. Looking at the website, on which people can post about the gifts they’ve given and the consequences, you can give anything, from a smile to a coffee to a taxi ride. They say that what goes around comes around, and by giving so that someone else may benefit, we can all raise our energies and enjoy the mutual benefits of giving without expecting something in return.
Now that we’re coming up to Christmas this seems particularly appropriate. Have a look at the website and be inspired by the stories of gifts great and small, and the ways they are changing people’s lives. I’m going to do it too.
