The Baby Shower Gift

Sunday I attended a lovely baby shower.

After a delicious brunch everyone went into the family room to sit and watch the mom-to-be open presents.  There were “oohs” and “aahs” each time she unwrapped a gift and held it up for all to see, and I started to worry. What if my gift wasn’t good enough, cute enough, clever enough, or expensive enough?  What if my gift does not receive one single “ooh” or “aah”? 

Were other women feeling the same? Were we all sitting around anxiously wondering how others would judge our gifts?

I convinced myself I’d made a terrible shopping mistake and wanted to run out and try again.

At state fairs all sorts of things are judged; cows, artwork, apple pies. That’s how my life has felt, as if everything about me was being judged, and I have simply carried on the tradition of judging myself if no one is available to do it for me.

But life is not about winning, and I decided to declare myself a “judgment free” zone.

At first I was scared. How would I know if I was acting appropriately or doing what others thought was best if no one was telling me? Then I felt a weight lifting off my shoulders. I would now be the one to decide if I was acting appropriately or doing what I thought was best.

We all have precious gifts to offer and not just those we bring to a baby shower. We have gifts of  creativity, passion, talents and love, and if they are held up for all to see, we may start to worry about how others will respond and hesitate to share them.

Let us each create a “judgment free” zone around ourselves so these gifts have room to breathe and expand, to blossom and grow, and the life we create will make us “ooh” and “aah!”