@ogb saidPlus, they are now obligated to purchase a return gift of commensurate value [thanks, Sheldon Cooper].
At Christmas time..people give each other gifts. The more expensive the gift, the more you care. ! people don't want cheap gifts !!
@ogb saidAll presents are cheap...they break, decay or their owners pass away...Emerson said that gifts, even the most expensive, are cheap representations of our presence with others.
I meant presents, like Christmas presents..
People want and need presence...at Christmas and at all other times; that is the essence of the Christ story, for believers in the Jesus story or not...it is the hope emanating from the word, Emmanuel, “God with us”...perhaps some people needed presence so badly that they collaborated on a story that developed into something that shaped entire cultures...I don’t know...
But I do know that humans need presence; meeting the need for self knowledge and reflection that they are not alone...the Sufis elevate it as a fundamental need of the Divine (“...I (God speaking) was alone and desired to know Myself)...through self knowledge and reflection in community.
Presence is that reflection that humans seek with each other (even while debating on chess site forums 😉) and for some in seeking a being higher than themselves.
@hakima saidI would indeed rather have a lack of 'presents' from family than a lack of 'presence' of family.
All presents are cheap...they break, decay or their owners pass away...Emerson said that gifts, even the most expensive, are cheap representations of our presence with others.
People want and need presence...at Christmas and at all other times; that is the essence of the Christ story, for believers in the Jesus story or not...it is the hope emanating from the word, Emmanuel ...[text shortened]... (even while debating on chess site forums 😉) and for some in seeking a being higher than themselves.
@bigdoggproblem saidSpock DNA 🧬 is all you need!
Plus, they are now obligated to purchase a return gift of commensurate value [thanks, Sheldon Cooper].