Along the way I was taught the phrase today is a gift… That’s why it’s called the present…
This has been such a valuable thought process for me to embrace; I have tried to incorporate it in all aspects of my life. I do have everything I need at this moment, the simple fact of being able to contemplate this thought, right here right now, is validation I am alive and conscious and that life is a gift.
Growing up, I always associated the word gift with something that would come beautifully wrapped with pretty bows. With holidays or rewards for my accomplishments, as I grew up and started to give, I found that when something significant happened in someone’s life, or a holiday. I instantly thought of giving them something residing in the material realm.
As time went on, I conditioned myself to think of life as a quest for success and with this success, I would have the ability to give and receive gifts at a greater level. For many years this process was fun exciting and fulfilling, and my quest for the spoils and to spoils seemed infinite. Somewhere along the way I found myself in what seemed to be a long in a race,
I had willingly entered into, with no desire to cross the finish line. Little by little, the value of things became less important, and my appreciation of experiences and the intrinsic beauty surrounding me grew. With this growth also began a new type of energy appreciation and understanding. The significant opportunity I have been given on this very day, to participate on this journey in life, in this heaven on earth!
Around this time is when I also found a heightened appreciation in the simplistic beauty and value of togetherness. Our ability to gather together and unite on a common cause is such a catalyst for us to become present. Several years back I noticed a change, especially among the younger generation, where materialism was not as important as experiences. Around this same time the concept of crowd funding started to come into play. People could share their ideas and thoughts with the greater community, then that community could determine whether or not they wanted to help. I love this idea!
This great idea inspired me. What if I could create a funding platform for entertaining? I cannot tell you how many times I received an invitation for something, and I force myself to go out and purchase a gift primarily out of habit, more than desire. In many circumstances I would much rather be able to contribute towards the occasion, then provide a gesture in the form of a gift of materialism. Over the last year, myself and the noel.events team have been developing a new platform called Share. This platform allows for people to come in and create their vision, of an event and share it with their community, in the form of an invitation allowing their community to attend as well as participate in the funding. The amount of funding is totally dependent on the host’s preference, providing the ability for happenings to be fully or partially funded through their community. The end result is ideas can be created in the form of a Happening Plan, for people to unite and share in togetherness.
Those ideas can then be transferred to reality, by the support of the invited community. This concept is one of the countless direct examples of inspiration, from that simple but powerful phrase reminding me that life is a gift!
Experience life’s present,
Tom
