There are 3 making days until Christmas, and if you are a normal American, you will be shopping at the malls and discount stores today and tomorrow with others in a rude, frantic rush. A friend of mine told about seeing a man ram a woman with his shopping cart while he demanded, "Move your fat ass." The season can really bring out the worst in some.

In the meantime those who make the gifts they give may not spend over the limits of their credit cards and bank accounts, and may instead feel some relative sense of calm this holiday season. If the gifts we give were acquired through the expression of anger and hostility, one can wonder how they reflect joy for those who receive them.

So, what if this is the first year for you as a maker of things? You do put a lot of yourself on the line. It is scary, right? As a beginner, your quality won't be same as the quality of work spewed from the world's factories. In a world where the hands are given so little notice or respect, and in which skill is marginalized in the face of the glitz and glitter of the newest meaningless thing, you are taking a chance on giving something you have made as an expression of your own aspirations. But use that gift as an excuse to share your own interest in the awakening of the wisdom of your own hands. Who knows, your example may help others to discover something new about themselves. The pleasure and sanity that comes from being more consciously engaged with the hands would be a great gift in a season too frantic, too worried, too hassled and rude.

Or you can get your shopping cart up to ramming speed, right?