Magi gifts

The wise men or magi gave gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to honour a baby whom they had read the skies to find. A journey which took them to a humble stable in Bethlehem.

One they undertook, not because they were grounded in the faith of Abraham, but because they had studied the stars and could discern something unusual and wondrous was happening that gave them the impetus to set out on a journey.

While on vacation in Phuket over Christmas, I chanced upon this great Marcel Proust quotation on a T-shirt of a fellow hotel guest:

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."

This became the theme of my brief holiday with Mum. Every morning on our walk on the beach, we found new things to delight in as we scanned the soon-familiar shoreline.

Every new sand dollar I spotted brought back the excitement I felt as a child when I discovered a treasure for my shell collection.

Every new step we took on the powder-soft sand was a shared affirmation of life.

There is such visceral pleasure in being an active participant in the act of giving and in watching someone you love experience the same joy you feel in simple things like watching the sun set or supping on a chewy banana roti.

My gift this Epiphany is one I hope I give every day, whether on vacation or not, and that is to give myself in love to those around me.

And like the magi, may I always ponder on and follow the star that leads me to Christ- as I gaze on it with new eyes at every juncture of the journey.