We often wait to give gifts to someone until it is his or her birthday or some special holiday like Christmas or Hanukkah. But this takes much of the surprise out of our gift-giving; it makes it too predictable. The real joy in giving and receiving gifts is in the unexpected. When, for no reason, we give a gift to a friend, just because we feel like giving him something special, there is a great gladness in being so unpredictably generous and open and loving. Perhaps we can also give ourselves more in our life in this open and generous and spontaneous way. Maybe we can begin by just picking someone who is special to us and give him an unexpected gift just because we want him to know how important he is to us. So give, even if it's not his or her birthday; give unexpectedly and see the joy you create.