THE GREATEST GIFT – Georgiann Carlson

“So,” she said, “what do you think the greatest gift would be?”

“For me peronally, or for the world?” he asked, stirring twenty sugar cubes into his coffee.

“Either one.”

“Well, personally, I’d want you to love me. For the world, I guess I would say…uh…”

“Yes?”

“Is there a right answer?”

“No, I don’t think so,” she said.

“There are so many things. Do I only get one gift?”

“Yes. Just one.”

“It’s a big question.”

“The biggest,” she agreed.

“What would you pick?”

“An end to all violence. All violence against animals, the planet, and every other living thing.”

He nodded. “Great gift.”

“And yours?”

“An end to all suffering.”

She smiled. “Great gift, although the definition of suffering is kind of broad. Do you think either one is possible?”

“No,” he said. “I don’t.”

“I don’t think so either.”

“What about my personal gift?” he asked. “Do you think that might be doable?”

She looked at his coffee, then kissed him on the cheek. “Enjoy your sugar,” she whispered. “I gotta run.”

He watched her walk away, took an envelope out of his backpack, stared at the address, then he tore it in half. “No use asking Santa,” he snickered to himself. “I knew the answer wasn’t love.”

Photo by DiEtte Henderson on Unsplash

I’m an artist, a writer, a vegetarian, an animal rights activist, and quite a few other things as well. I love books, cats, philosophy, good conversation, Chicago and the arts. So my blog is full of bits and pieces but it’s the bits and pieces that make life interesting to me. You can read more of my writing at Rethinking Life