One of the customs of Chanukah is to play dreidel—a game of chance in which you spin a top, and take from or contribute to the pot depending on how the top lands. Sometimes you get a miracle, and the light keeps burning. Sometimes the dreidel falls to “shin” and you give back what you have gained.
How do you celebrate in uncertain times?
For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, this is the moment when the days cease their long slide toward darkness and move back again toward light. Also, it’s going to get colder, not warmer, for some time to come.
In times of cold, what helps you to focus on the light?
The point of gift wrapping is to allow something to be expected and unexpected at the same time—we know something is a present, while preserving the mystery of the actual contents. Part of the gift is maintaining the pleasure of anticipating the surprise.
What are you looking forward to having revealed?
“It is only those who are lightly esteemed that can make unexpected impact. They are the ones we have been waiting for.”
― Paul Bamikole
Who have you underestimated?
If three different people are looking in one box, how many different things do they see? For these co-workers, perhaps a new printer is an exciting efficiency, a huge pain to set up or of no interest whatsoever, depending on who is looking.
When have you been surprised by how someone’s reaction differed from yours?
