10 November

The Greatest Gift

by Jon Katz
The Greatest Gift

I think the greatest gift I can give another is encouragement, the lighting of the creative spark. Today I had the great gift of being able to help Maria paint the new storm windows for her Schoolhouse Studio. It is a creative space, and this something Maria and I do for one another and for anyone else we can. The gift of encouragement is an easy gift to give, I have learned. It’s free yet valuable, sometimes the most valuable gift somebody can receive. When Maria encouraged me to take photos, I became a photographer. When I encouraged her to return to her art, she did. These were precious gifts, and both of our lives were changed.

I woke up this morning and said I was so lucky to be able to paint her windows, and she looked at me strangely, as if I had to be kidding, and said it was sweet. I blushed. Every day I try to encourage someone – to start a blog, paint a picture, take a photo, write a poem, start a novel. A gift to me, every time.

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