I just finished reading a novel by Jim Stovall with a title “The Ultimate Gift.” It is a story of a young man named Jason who has passed all the tests by proving himself worthy of the 12 gifts his great-uncle Red Stevens offered him in order to inherit $1 billion. This has also been made into a movie starring Drew Fuller and Abigail Breslin which is by the way, awesome!
I had a life-changing experience reading this book and it made me realize, analyse and internalize the things and decisions I made in the past and will be making in the future. I was left teary-eyed and with a question in mind, can this be possible in real life? Is there someone out there willing to take the tests and determined to pass them without monetary compensation?
What I wanted to share to you are the series of gifts that came from this book and how it changes my perspective towards life.
- The Gift of Work – “He who loves work never labors.”
This is the first among the 12 gifts and I think I am already failing it. I got a job that I can say with all modesty, a better one, yet, I am not satisfied. I complained about it every day and it makes me tired and exhausted. It is a daily routine that almost feels like a robotic chore, yet, I haven’t noticed or decided to ignore that there are other people around me who risks their lives on the streets, on the top of the buildings, out in the wilderness, alone at night and in the middle of the war just to make sure that their families will have something to eat and a place to live. They sacrifices comfort and safety just to ensure their loved ones will have a better future. For that, I thank God for giving me a wonderful and nice job.
- The Gift of Money – “Money is nothing more than a tool. It can be a force for good, a force for evil, or simply be idle.”
Surely, being financially stable and abundant is a privilege but it doesn’t complete a person’s life, for real happiness can be measured on how contented you are on the simple pleasures this world is offering, free of charge.
For starters, I am a person who counts his money before spending it. I have a budget allocation as to where my salary would go every month yet for some reason; I get short before the next pay check arrives. I am doing something about it now but that is another story. My point here is that I think what I earn is always not enough. I failure to see that everyone else around me struggle more than I do. Their salaries are lesser that what I get and they have a lot of mouths to feed and bills to pay, yet somehow, we all survive at the same time. Their worries are more than mine yet they manage to be happy. For that, I thank God for giving me an ample amount of money that is big enough if I only know how to spend wisely.
- The Gift of Friends – “It is a wealthy person, indeed, who calculate riches not in gold but in friends.”
This has always been my struggle. How to identify a real friend from a fake one? But I understand now that I am asking a wrong question. It should be, ‘how can I be a true friend to someone?’
I’ve got trust issues ever since I was young and I think that’s what shapes my anti-social life and hinders my capability to get along with others. I have a very low self-esteem that is why I always try to impress everyone I know up to the point of lying to them as I am afraid I will lose them. I did not realize that by doing that, I stop them from knowing me completely and gaining their trusts, which in return, holding back my trust to them. For that, I thank God for all my friends who know me inside and out. During my ups and downs, decided to stay beside me. It will come a time; I will repay you with kindness that you’ve shown me through all these years.
- The Gift of Learning – “Education is a lifelong journey whose destination expands as you travel.”
I must admit, I am lucky that I have attended college even for a short period of time. It was my passes on getting a great job. But I do not consider myself as a well-educated man. Not that I still need to go to one of the prestigious universities in the country and earn a degree then put initials at the end of my name. I will say, I’ve got the basics covered from the four corners of a classroom. All I need to do is continue my learning from the people who I encountered every day. It is a never-ending journey indeed, and there is no finish line. For that, I thank God for the things I’ve learnt in life and will be learning as I continue wandering through life.
- The Gift of Problems – “Problems can only be avoided by exercising a good judgment. Good judgment can only be gained by experiencing life’s problems.”
First, I would like to share this passage from the book: “When we can learn from our own problems, we begin to deal with life. When we can learn from other people’s problems, we begin to master life.”
This is the gift that I appreciate the most. I even cry in between reading this part. The reason? I can relate to Jason at this point as I did learn so much on my problems. It made me realize that I am not the only one who has problems in this world. All of us are battling our own wars every day, trying to win in order to survive. It made me think what will happen to the world if nobody will show light to the world even by just smiling in front of challenges. The world will be dull and gloomy without a shadow of light. For that, I thank God for giving me problems as it makes me a stronger and better person.
- The Gift of Family – “Some people are born into wonderful families. Others have to find or create them. Being a member of a family is a privilege which costs nothing but love.”
I can tell with honesty and proud that I love my family. They are my strength and my weakness. With them, I can be full-proof or vulnerable. They are my scepter and crown that makes me a king, and my sword and shield that makes me a warrior. They are my blood. For that, I thank God for my wonderful family. I hope to create a family of my own someday, whether by blood or loyalty.
- The Gift of Laughter – “Laughter is good medicine for the soul. Our world is desperately in need of such medicine.”
At first, I thought it doesn’t make sense adding laughter as one of the gifts to live a wonderful life, but as I read this part, it made me realize how vital laughter’s part is. Without it, this world will be dull and meaningless. Truly, laughter brings relief to an aching soul and joy to a sorrowful heart. It gives color to everything around us. With laughter in our lives, a rocky road will feel like a smooth feather. For that, I thank God for bringing laughter into this world. I am very lucky to live in this life.
- The Gift of Dreams – “Faith is all that dreamers need to see into the future.”
As a writer, this one is my favorite. This serves as a fuel in making the rest of the gifts possible to achieve. This is by far, the reason why we continue to exist. We are still striving to survive and not thinking of giving up because we dream. Dreams are not only for the younger ones, as you go through life; you need to hold on to your dreams. The farther you travel, the closer you are in realizing your dreams and making them a reality. For that, I thank God for giving us the capability to dream. It’s what drives our passion. It is a trigger and our motivation to succeed. Most of all, it erases doubts and that imaginary word called impossible.
- The Gift of Giving – “The only way you can truly get more out of life for yourself is to give part of yourself away.”
The more you give, the more you receive. This maxim is true in any way, yet why is it so hard for us to comply. The greatest irony the world has created is that the more we receive in this life, the harder it is for us to give away. I am not talking about money or anything that it can buy, but other things that we can offer. Be it a time to spend with somebody, a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen to, an arm to lean on or a hand to hold on to. Even I, is guilty for not sharing this gift. For that, I thank God for giving us the will to give. I will find a way to hand this over to anyone who needs it. For it truly makes the world a better place to live.
- The Gift of Gratitude – “In those times when we yearn to have more in our lives, we should dwell on the things we already have. In doing so, we will often find that our lives are already full to overflowing.”
I will take this opportunity to apologize for not realizing that every day I open my eyes after a long night of sleep, I am receiving God’s gift. It’s a shame I always forget thanking him for that. Even as I sleep, His gift continuously grows within me as I breathe. Instead of giving him praise, all I do is complain. I did not see the roof above my head because of the leaks when it rains. I did not know how delicious the food in our table is because it is always the same every day. I did not feel that my feet is resting rather than walking for a long mile because of the heavy traffic on my way to work. Opps! I did not notice that others are unemployed because I was tired and exhausted from doing a routine job. The list is long and for that I am shameful.
This is perhaps, the most wonderful gift of all, the gift of thanks. For that, I thank God for giving us the capacity to appreciate what we have and be grateful for it. Thank you, God.
- The Gift of a Day – “Life at its essence boils down to one day at a time. Today is the day!”
If today will be my last day on earth, will I choose it to be different from the rest of the days that I lived so that it will be perfect? My answer is yes and no. Yes because I have a perfect day every day and no because I will not choose my last day to be different. I wanted it to be the same from yesterday and the day before. My definition of a perfect day is waking up with the people you love and loves you, eating breakfast with them before leaving to work. Working with the people you respect and respect you then ending your day with them. Going home to the people you love and love you, eating dinner with them then sleeping with them again. If I wake up, it’s another perfect day. If not, I will not have any regrets of spending my last day with them, because that day was perfect. For that, I thank God for giving us a perfect day every day. A day full of problems and resolutions. A day full of sadness and happiness. A day full failures and success.
- The Gift of Love – “Love is a treasure for which we can never pay. The only way to keep it is to give it away.”
If the gift of dreams is my bow and the gift of gratitude is my target, then the gift of love is my arrow. The rest of the gifts will not be possible without this one, for this is the key. Gifts are there to share. And we share these gifts to someone because we love them. Truly, sharing is giving, and giving is loving. For that, I thank God for creating and giving us His love, so that we can share it to everyone. A world full of love is a world worth living.
Now that all has been said, it’s only fair to put it into practice, and then that practice can turn into a habit. I am willing to take this challenge and I am determined to pass the tests. This is my goal in life now; I thank God for creating these gifts.
One more thing, I am passing the book to my lovely friend, Mimi, in a hope that she will also found the same perspective I find after reading it. May she enjoy the journey as she turns one page to another. My only wish is for her to pass the book to her friend and so on, until the world will know how lucky we are in living this wonderful life, possessing these gifts to cherish and share.
SchizoGuy Journ To The World 