Here’s a riddle about the best gift of all time.

It doesn’t come wrapped in paper and you can’t put it under a Christmas tree. You can’t order it online, but if you’re fortunate to get it, you might want to give it away with free shipping. No other gift, not even a new car or a $50,000 diamond ring, is more valuable and it doesn’t cost a dime. This is a gift that you’ll want to return over and over again and you’ll never ask for a refund. Some give this gift only once because it lasts forever if it comes with an unconditional lifetime guarantee.

If you have given this gift to a child, it will be returned when you see a sense of appreciation right in front of your own eyes during this holiday season. Children are living symbols of this gift until someone gives them a reason to throw it away. Then they might grow up lacking conscience and compassion. If you walk into a prison, you will likely understand why this gift isn’t given there a whole lot, and for many of the incarcerated, they have never received it since the day they were born.

Some holiday songs will make you cry about it. Some Christmas movies will make you sigh about it. Elvis sang “Blue Christmas” when he couldn’t share the gift. Listen to a song called “The Christmas Shoes,” and you’d better have a box of tissues in your hand. “Miracle on 34th Street” is about a little girl who gives this gift to Santa Claus after he was doubted of being the real guy. And there’s no better classic movie we sigh about than “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

If a man is about to ask a woman for her hand in marriage while they are standing beneath a mistletoe, this gift comes with a lifetime promise sealed with a two-second kiss.

It defies all logic and science can’t explain how its power can help tame the Grinch. There is nothing in the universe that can have such a powerful effect. It can bring the heartless to their knees and it can warm the coldblooded soul. Domestic animals naturally exude it; human beings sometimes try to elude it. Its subtle seduction has decided the outcomes of wars and destroyed the largest of empires. Yet you will never see historians claim this gift was present on any battlefield in any war, but it was always there when every trigger was pulled and every bomb was exploded. It has inspired incredible courage and an unrelenting will to survive confrontations with the face of death.

Especially at this time of year, it can heal the sick and comfort the lonely. It does not come in a prescription bottle and you can’t drink it out of a glass. It enjoys physical company, but no matter a distance of 1,000 miles between, it can still hold two people very close together. The gift brings smiles into nursing homes and hospitals around the globe. It has extended the lives of those that were given just months to live and it is unarguably the best gift to give to someone who is about to take a final breath.

Women might try to wish for it upon a star. Men might think they can find it in a bar. The truth is you can’t wave a magic wand to make it appear. It can show up uninvited in grocery stores, churches and even at ballgames. It gets its thrills in surprising the unexpected in the most common of all places.

When you are given this gift, you get this incredible feeling that you can climb any mountain and swim across every ocean because if it finds its way inside your heart, then nothing is impossible. Oh, did I say you can reach up and touch the stars, too? Walk on air? Well, maybe not, but it sure can make you feel like you can.

It can be born with your head in the clouds, but it grows with your feet on the ground. It’s nice to give this gift during this season of giving, but it’s extra special when it’s delivered on any old ordinary day.

It makes food taste better, especially during this joyous time of year. It goes great with a glass of wine and it takes delight in slow dancing around twinkling tree lights near a yuletide fire.

Here’s what else makes this gift the greatest of all time. It’s praised by God and damned by Satan. It’s ageless, timeless and deathless. It knows no gender, no race and no religion. It comes complete with forgiveness, trust and respect with no assembly required.

It is the gift of love that brings joy to the world, good will to everyone, and peace on earth.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays, everyone!

Rich Strack can be reached at richiesadie11@gmail.com.