Gift of Experience
The best gift I ever gave to a close friend of mine for her birthday was a two-day camping trip filled with activities such as flashlight tag, releasing sky lanterns, fishing, and my most favorite camping activity which is a scavenger hunt. We had also invited her aunt and few other friends to come along.
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Photo by Laura Pluth
My friend has previously struggled with hoarding items such as handbags, shoes, clothes, makeup etc. For anyone here who may not know what hoarding is, let me give you an explanation. Hoarding is when a person excessively stocks up on items and in my friend’s case, she developed an attachment to them and had difficulty giving those items away.
This time for her birthday, I decided to not give out any gifts and instead engage her in fun experiences and activities in hopes that she will find them more valuable than simply stocking up on items. I called my friend's aunt and together we made a list of all necessary items we will need to set up our camping spot, plan for emergencies by taking a first aid kit, sleeping bags, camp chairs, tables, tools, utensils etc. We picked a camping spot and called a camp guide to set up our scavenger hunt and tour the camp beforehand.
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Photo by Alice Donovan Rouse
On the day of her birthday, we took a minivan to the camping spot, set up our base and went fishing. We experienced some difficulties as well when it came to these two activities and my friend did mention that it would have been easier to just go shopping at the mall instead of camping. Nonetheless, she still remained spirited and we caught 4 walleye fish. As dusk began to approach, we decided to play flashlight tag and drink hot cocoa. The next day we started the scavenger hunt. Everyone was waiting in anticipation for the prize to be announced but it was agreed upon that the prize is a surprise for the very end.
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Photo by Sticker Mule
My friend ended up winning the scavenger hunt and won a free one-year payment of a sport fishing license along with training. As we were heading back home, my friend opened up about how she was reluctant at first about the camping trip since it was outside of her comfort zone but she found the whole experience extremely thrilling because it taught her outdoor skills for camping such as setting up a base and fishing.
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Photo by Ellladee
What was more astonishing to me was the fact that three weeks after her birthday, she joined a camp volunteering position and began taking fishing lessons to improve her skills. She called me on the phone and said that her birthday camping trip was the best birthday experience she had without feeling tied to her hoarding habits of getting attached to gifts and instead she welcomed the competitive feeling of challenge during the scavenger hunt. It was the gift of sharing experiences and new skills with people whom she wanted to be around which ultimately inspired her to make a change in her life by taking the initiative to sign up for camp volunteering and fishing lessons.
Note: All images have been cited and the respective authors have been given credit. The images were sourced from unsplash.com
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It was the gift of sharing experiences and new skills with people whom she wanted to be around which ultimately inspired her to make a change in her life by taking the initiative to sign up for camp volunteering and fishing lessons.
It is all so worth it, @moon-city!
Thanks for sharing this beautiful experience.
Good luck with the contest.
At Ladies of Hive, making friends with someone who is different from you can be a learning experience. You can learn about their culture, and they can learn from you.
Take the time to engage other ladies.
The whole point is to find people who you relate to that can enrich your life.
You can find ladies here who reflect your interests and passions.
Thank you so much @silversaver888 ! 😊😊
Friends like you are the ones I need in my life hehehehe! what a beautiful gift you have given her because it was something that will last a lifetime: a beautiful experience that she will multiply with others! great, I loved it!
Thank you so much @yenmendt ! Appreciate you saying that. I definitely agree with you about the whole experience lasting a lifetime and how it will continue to get bigger as the impact gets shared with multiple people! Have a restful day! 😊🥰
I love that the message got through to you, that's the idea! blessings to you and yours.
Thank you! 🥰
I have always been attracted to this type of activities, mostly because I have not had the opportunity to practice them. Camping in the open air, never; weighing, much less... Maybe that's why I would like to go through experiences like the ones you narrate in this publication...
Thanks for sharing your experience! It was nice to read it hehehe Thanks for your publication, best regards!
Gabo I hope you do get a chance to check these activities out! I was quite reluctant too at first because it was outside of my comfort zone but share the experience with your loved ones and close friends and you will definitely enjoy it! Wish you all the peace and love 😊
I find camping a way of learning to live minimally, what you have on hand and on your own resources; It's an interesting take away experience I felt. Sort of self dependancey. Much more fun as a group camp where we could pool resources and ideals and work.
Thanks @moon-city for sharing 🤗
Thank you so much! @kerrislravenhill I definitely agree with you about the camping experience. If a person does it alone, they will have to fully rely on themselves, their resources, instincts, experiences etc. I know a friend who was heavily involved in cadet training for three years! It has definitely sparked a lot of curiosity within me to check it out.
You have given your friend the best gift you could give her. You took her out of her comfort zone, especially camping, where the basics are required, without so many material things and best of all she liked it. That is a gift of life that your friend will never forget.
Thank you so much! It was a great learning experience for me as well! 😊 . I hope you have a blessed Tuesday @tibaire
I would be thrilled to have that gift. What a good friend you are!
Thank you so much Carolyn! Appreciate it :) 🧡