Christine Mason Miller (photo by Denise Andrade http://deniseandrade.com/)

One day in the early Spring of this year, when this website was busy getting born in my brain, I came across Christine Mason Miller’s story of how she was leaving copies of her book, Ordinary Sparkling Moments, in little brown paper packages in random places in different parts of the world as gifts for anyone who happened to wander by (100 Books Project). Not only did I fantasize about stumbling across one of those books, but I also became intrigued with the whole concept of anonymous gift-giving. Christine had been inspired by the book The Gift: How the Creative Spirit Transforms the World, and I wasted no time ordering my own copy. The book served as an important catalyst for my own thinking around personal gifts and how and why we share them.

I’m very excited that Christine agreed to be my special guest today!

By way of introduction, Christine, tell us something fun about yourself.

My name is Christine and I’m a Brady Bunch fanatic!  Living in Los Angeles I see celebrities all the time, and the only one I’ve made a complete fool of myself with was Florence Henderson – aka Mrs. Brady.  Me + champagne + any Brady in real life = Me blabbing on like a crazy superfan!

What are the gifts you are sharing (or learning to share) with the world?

More than any particular kind of art or writing, the gift I am trying to share with the world is the gift of knowing that the answers to our most meaningful questions can be found within our own lives.  I would say an extension of that is that I am trying to convey this message with as much beauty as possible.  I try to do this by sharing my own stories – which includes being honest about all the messy, stumbling ways I have found my own answers.  In a nutshell, I am sharing my truth.

How did you discover that you had these gifts?

The turning point came during the hardest year of my life, when I made my highest priority in life to live by the truth.  Although that was a conscious choice at a specific point in my life, the way I have come to share this gift as an artist and a writer has been a slow evolution, one that I know is going to continue to shift and grow over time.

Why do you think it is important to share these gifts?

I believe that facing, calling out and living by what is true is what grants us the most freedom to live our most meaningful lives.  I also know that there are many layers of truth in any given situation, and the more we dig to uncover the barest essence of what is true the more we discover our own values, passions, fears and strengths.

What have been the stumbling blocks or obstacles in your path to discovering and/or sharing your gifts?

I would say my ego and fear have been the deadly combo.  As far as my ego is concerned, I try to be aware of when it is getting in the way and when it is driving my choices, thoughts and actions (not always the easiest task, but I try).  When my fears start making noise, I try to let them carry on however they want, sometimes literally saying out loud, “Do what you need to do and have at it, but right now I need to work”.  In other words, letting them cackle and bang drums and taunt me, but sticking to my task at hand.

Tell me a story about how the sharing of the gifts had a transformative impact on you or the person/people you shared them with.

I recently had a conversation with someone who wanted to know how I – and other entrepreneurial friends of mine – had built my online presence and business.  After talking about the connections I had with different bloggers and artists and how we all supported one another’s ventures, I explained that the most important thing we have all done to get where we are is to ask for what we need.  Any art show, retreat, or business we created came about because we put our idea out to our community and asked for support, help and participation.  That was the simple truth, and I could see in her eyes she was relieved to know it wasn’t anything more complicated than that.  There was no magic formula or “expert” who we all turned to, all we did was tell the truth of what we needed.

What advice do you have for other people who are learning about their own gifts?

Follow your instincts.
Follow your instincts.
Follow your instincts.

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