Optimism at the End of the World 4 : What do you have to offer to the gift economy?

I was planning on posting this a few weeks from now but with @stellabelle dropping this post about how steemit resembles a gift economy and then a follow up by @bretawarshawsky here then finally some really encouraging remarks from @benjojo about giving I thought it was a good time for this post. Awesome! I see steemit as being a bit open ended economy, but it certainly has the potential to help the idea of a gift economy grow as gifting is quite easy here. I plan to write more about is topic in the future but just some basics for now.

The gift economy is about giving willfully without expectation and receiving graciously without guilt. We usually see it in the form of random acts of kindness. I believe that in the future it will take the shape of "just doing what you do". Gifting doesn't have to be entirely selfless. If we see how deeply connected we are, that I feel good when you feel good and you feel good when I feel good, that I am you and you are me, we bypass the idea of exchange and everything becomes a whole lot lighter and more harmonious. I don't see us dropping all exchange right away in favor of a 100% gift economy at this moment in time, but we can strive to expand this concept and its practice.

What's so hard about giving?

Our social narratives have fed us many ideas that turn into deeply seated beliefs. "Nothing in life is free" Survival of the fittest, this idea of lack, our society is full of them. We think we know everything about human nature despite the fact that we have only seen it in a limited array of circumstances. We believe that people are naturally selfish and will not give when the opportunity to give presents itself. We think that no one will come to help us when we need it most. This makes sense, this is one expression of human nature that we have seen before. Our fear and lack of trust make such acts of kindness seem out of place and unwise outside of close relationships and all such acts are considered "acts of charity".

What's so unwise about giving what you have to spare? If you have too much to eat yourself, why not offer the person next to you? It's not about feeling like a good person or expecting the same favor to be returned. It's about "why not?"

What's so hard about receiving?

Most people would find it hard to believe that receiving is harder for mod than people than giving. We grow up believing in a work ethic, that debts need to back paid back, to our neighbors, our parents and our gods. Pride prevents many from even admitting when they could use a helping hand. We feel a sense of guilt when we do not pay back a favor (most decent people do anyway).

Why not just say thank you and mean it? Why not pay it forward? Why not use what others give you to do great things?

Pay what you want

I am particularly fond of this expression of a gift economy because it takes into account the world we live in today, a world that is still dominated by the idea of exchange, where we are still expected to pay for rent and airfare and education and viettuslly everything else hat we don't have the means to create ourselves. Pay what you want opens the channels for monetary abundance without forcing you to focus on making money. And allows people to give or not give as they see fit. It's an expression of freedom for both the giver and reciever. You can give freely while also encouraging others to do what they can for you as well. This makes it easier for us to take part in a gift economy without leaving others who are not ready too far behind.

Pay what you want may look like an exchange at times but it differs in that it does not carry the same expectations. That means I provide a service or something you need even if you don't plan on paying me. I may hope that you pay me, but that isn't my main motivation for doing what I do. It allows me to take the focus off money and allows you to feel free to decide how you want to reward or if you want to reward it.

What I have to offer....

Aside from what I offer in my posts, I can offer the following

• language practice for a variety of languages. If you are studying and want to make conversation to improve, find me. Japanese, Chinese, Spanish (basic only), French (basic only), German (very basic only), Italian (very basic only).

• advice on how to see the effects of the law of attraction work in your life, I will make articles on this as well if people are interested.

• useful self-healing through diet, massage, good habits, and targeting the emotional cause of physical issues

I reserve the right to tell you to piss off if I'm tired or ignore your message until I am in the mood. If we don't take care of ourselves we can't take care of others very well.

I am always open to monetary gifts because they make my life easier and allow me to focus more of my time and energy on giving to others. That being said, this is not reverse psychology or a "wink wink" gesture. I will not expect anything in exchange from you if you need help with something that I can help you with. If you can't offer me anything or if you have someone you think needs it more, that's fine, pay it forward!

No need to be awkward about it, come find me in the chat rooms if there is anything I can do for you.

I hope that we can use this tag #gifteconomy to promote the act of giving freely and also receiving without guilt but full of gratitude. I encourage you to write a post with this tag offering what you have to offer free of charge or pay-what-you-want. Feel free to link such posts in the comments here. You may accept payment or some form of compensation but under the condition that you do not expect such payment or compensation.

Optimism 3

The tree