Opinion article by Vânia Sousa Lima, lecturer at the Faculty of Education and Psychology of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa (FEP‑UCP).
“The act of making oneself present, a gift to the other, both requires and enables serenity as a response to restlessness, calmness as a counterpoint to anxiety.
This text had already been mentally outlined before I was confronted with the taxi driver’s question: ‘So, young lady, have you already bought your Christmas presents?’ I replied in the way that seemed most appropriate to the moment, without explaining the multitude of thoughts and emotions that this question typically stirs in me (the haste I witness, the anxiety I observe, the pressure I notice, the hustle that settles in, the overvaluation of the superfluous, the emptiness within the abundance…). Out of politeness, I returned the question, without in any way anticipating the driver’s answer: ‘I’ve no one to give presents to, and I won’t be able to work for the next two months, so…'"
