Our stuff isn’t our identity

"Will you be taking gifts with you to India?" the dental hygienist asked when working on my unflossed teeth.

I have a complicated relationship with flossing.  As in I rarely do it; maybe ten times a year!

Once, I asked the dentist about the news that I read that too much flossing can be bad for dental hygiene.  Especially because most of us floss the wrong way.

He laughed off my question.

I figured that there is something going well with my quality spit and oral microbiome.  So, why try to meddle with it by flossing!

Anyway, there I was with my mouth wide open when she asked me about taking gifts to India. 

I wasn't sure if the question was triggered by the upcoming mass-consumption season.  If that's the case, then I would have to remind her that my people don't celebrate the birth of Jesus. 

On the other hand, she could have thought about people usually taking gifts when visiting their old countries.

After the tube sucked away the dental detritus, I got a chance to reply. 

"Nah, they all have everything."

I opened my mouth again for her to resume scraping away the plaque.

"My plan is for the family to spend time together, and make foods that we all like to eat" she said.

I thought to myself that this is exactly what we did all the time when I was young.  When visiting with grandmas or the extended family aunts and uncles, we didn't take any gifts nor did they have any gifts for us.  We spent time together.  We ate together.  We traded stories--even if they were old ones that had been told many times over.

In the age of mass consumption, we have easily and conveniently forgotten the simple and profound ways of how we used to live :( 

Now, with the world worried about sustainability that has been brought about by consumption of goods, especially the ones that do not last, isn't it time that we ditched the gift-buying and instead reminded ourselves that the "time spent together in conversation, on a walk or preparing a meal is far more meaningful than anything you can unwrap."

Wrap your mind around that!