The Unwrapped Gift: When Life Gives Without Ribbons

The Unwrapped Gift: When Life Gives Without Ribbons
“One of the best gifts I have ever received?”

If I search my memory for parcels wrapped in shimmering paper, for boxes tied with satin bows, for surprises hidden in cupboards or beneath festive lights, I find none that stand out as a gift. In truth, I do not remember receiving the “best gift” in the conventional sense at all.

And yet, as I sit with this question, I realise that perhaps the finest gifts of life rarely arrive wrapped.

The Gift of Becoming

There were no dramatic unveilings, no applause, no ceremonious presentations. What I received instead were circumstances—some stern, some silent, some severe.

They did not come with greeting cards, but they came with lessons. They did not carry price tags, but they carried purpose.

Life, in its curious generosity, handed me responsibility before comfort, duty before indulgence, and questions before answers. At that time, I may not have recognised these as gifts. They felt more like burdens placed upon unprepared shoulders.

But as the Roman philosopher Seneca wisely observed, “Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labour does the body.” What seemed like deprivation slowly chiselled resilience. What appeared as absence became an invitation to grow.

The Gift of Education and Thought

If I must choose something tangible, it would not be an object, but an opportunity—the privilege of education. Books became companions. Chalk and blackboard became allies. Classrooms transformed into sanctuaries of thought.

Education did not merely teach me facts; it taught me perspective. It trained me to question, to reflect, to analyse. It instilled within me the scientific temper that our Constitution subtly encourages under Article 51A(h), reminding citizens to develop scientific inquiry and reform.

In this sense, the gift was not a possession but a preparation. It prepared me to stand firm when winds were strong and to bow gracefully when storms demanded humility.

The Gift of Trust

Perhaps the greatest invisible gift I ever received was trust—trust placed in me by institutions, colleagues, students, and parents. Leadership is never handed as a decorative trophy; it is entrusted as a responsibility. And trust, once given, becomes a sacred covenant.

The philosopher Immanuel Kant wrote about duty as a moral imperative. I felt that imperative deeply whenever responsibility knocked on my door. Each opportunity to guide, mentor, or serve was less a reward and more a calling.

Trust shaped my character more profoundly than any material gift could have.

The Gift of Solitude

There were seasons when silence became my closest confidant. In those quiet corridors of life, I often felt unseen, even forgotten. Yet solitude, like a stern teacher, revealed truths that noise never could.

The great poet William

Wordsworth found “emotion recollected in tranquillity.” In solitude, I too discovered reflection. Loneliness, though heavy, carved depth into my understanding of self and others.

It is strange how the gifts we initially resist become the treasures we later cherish.

The Gift of Writing

If I look at my present life—my pen resting faithfully beside me—I realise that writing itself is a gift. It allows pain to become prose, memory to become meaning, and silence to become sound.
The Bhagavad Gita speaks of Nishkama Karma—action without attachment to reward. Writing, for me, embodies that principle. I write not for applause, nor for awards, but because words seek expression. They insist on existence.

Perhaps the best gift I ever received was the ability to transform experience into expression.

The Gift That Was Never Wrapped

When I say I do not remember receiving the best gift, I now understand that I was mistaken. The gifts were simply not adorned with glitter. They arrived as challenges, as responsibilities, as education, as trust, as solitude, and as the quiet courage to continue.
Material gifts fade. Gadgets become obsolete. Clothes wear thin. But the invisible gifts—character, conviction, competence—grow stronger with time.

As Mahatma Gandhi once reminded us, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Service itself became a gift to me—one that gave more than it demanded.

A Quiet Conclusion

So, if someone asks me today, “What is the best gift you have ever received?” I would gently smile and say:
It was not something I opened with my hands.
It was something that opened me.

Life did not place a ribbon in my palm; it placed resolve in my heart.It did not gift me luxury; it gifted me lessons.And in those lessons, I found my wealth.

Sometimes, the finest gifts are not given to us.
They are grown within us.