The Greatest Gift is Time

Matt Mullenweg’s 40th birthday is coming up — and as a gift, I was going to buy him 40 types of cables. However, for a gift, he wants everyone to blog — especially on WordPress. So, that’s what I will do! 

I mean, I already blog. So, not that much of a stretch. However, for Matt, I am going to try and blog (in addition to my technology stuff) based on the prompts that WordPress is offering as part of its “Bloganuary” celebration. As luck would have it, today’s prompt is: What’s the greatest gift someone can give you? 

This was such a tough question — because to answer this question, you need to know yourself. And to know yourself, you also need to be honest with yourself. And that is hard. So the best we can do is a conflate a physical object with a gift. 

Someone can easily buy you something — it could be made by a famous brand. It could be expensive. It could be pretty. It can dazzle me. But will it be the greatest gift? The answer would be no. It could be, but it is unlikely. Because it won’t answer the metaphysical question: why does it matter to me? 

And the only way to arrive at an answer to that question is for someone to understand me. And to do that, it means that they need to know me. And know me well. That kind of understanding comes from spending time with me. 

This would give them an insight into my likes, my dislikes, my quirks, my hobbies, and my simple desires that make me smile. In other words, the physical gift would be a mere physical manifestation of the greatest gift — the time we spend together, and getting to know each other, warts and all.

As my friend Hiten said on Twitter the other day, “Your time is the most important gift you can give.” This appreciation of our relationship is the greatest gift someone can give me.

A friend is a gift you give yourself.

― Robert Louis Stevenson

January 4, 2024. San Francisco