What Is It To Be Human?
A friend sent me a short film clip that explains why it’s so hard to save things that matter to the heart, like nature. It highlights the book by Charles Eisenstein called, “Sacred Economics.” He traces the origins of money and talks about the need to return to the gift economy, where people actually need each other. In our present economy, nature becomes a commodity we destroy to make stuff, to fuel an economy that doesn’t celebrate our humanness.
That’s what happened with the last new car I bought in 1990. I purchased a brand new Toyota Celica and proudly parked it in a parking garage. Eight hours later I returned to a scarred car. Someone trying to send me some kind of message took a key and dragged it all over the left side of the car, including the hood and roof.What frightened me the most wasn’t the angry key artist, it was my own reaction: I almost had a nervous breakdown right there on level 4, crying and carrying on inside my scarred car. Since that incident I’ve figured out that the real scars weren’t on the outside of my car, they were on the inside of me for being so attached to a hunk of plastic and metal. Been trying to heal them ever since, to stop being attached to things.
I watched this short film wondering is there another way to live? Another way that allows us to be more human? To prefer the company of each other over stuff? I’d love for you to check out the film on the gift economy and come back to the blog and share your thoughts on it.
Is the time ripe for a modern potlatch?
Thanks! G.
p.s. Got a fun new class at Story Circle On-line called “Grab Life By The Writing Gusto: Find Your Life Theme.” Starts March 16th for 5 weeks and a conference call in week #4. Click HERE for more info
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Two things…
Yes, gifting. The potlatch was cool until Europeans came on the scene. And, of course, some took it too far. In essence, status became too important, and some potlatches left bands impoverished for years. But still, a way better model, and much of the worst examples were post-colonization.
Also, I drive Jeeps, and every real Jeep owner takes whichever Jeep they have straight out into the bush to put a few branch scratches on their beast just to makes sure that shiny newness is NOT, and cannot be, a priority. It’s like anti-vanity… 🙂
This, “There’s something imprisoning about constantly worrying if your stuff is going to get stolen, lost or destroyed,” is too true. Loved this, G.
Hi Michael,
Great story about real Jeep owners getting their Jeeps scratched. Anti-vanity – now that’s a cool phrase. Has anyone written about what real Jeep owners do with their Jeeps? It would make a great article.
It’s also rare to see anything in the back of today’s fancy pick-up trucks. They are designed to carry construction/landscaping materials but it’s like the owners don’t want to get them dirty. I’ve never understood that.
We are not our stuff! Thanks, G.
A very powerful video and some very basic truths. Sometimes it just seems impossible to re-create ourselves, our world, our systems and our total environment. I think we just need to try to do our own part in every small way that we can to provide gifts to one another, that promotes community and more understanding. Next, move to finding ways to share our resources instead of commoditizing them; easy to say, very hard to do.
I only hope that we don’t destroy ourselves before we see the necessity to change.
Hi Lou,
You are right that if we do our own small part to provide gifts to each other, that will promote community and understanding.
It’s fun to know lots of folks in my town. Wherever I go, I run into someone. Recently, folks have been coming up to me asking about the fate of the cave and how much they want to see it.
I’m not sure if the cave will survive what’s been done to it. The good news is that the cave has woken folks up to the importance of nature.
Thanks for stopping in! G.
I hope the cave serves as a catalyst to mobilize more community efforts. You may not succeed with the cave, but, you will have created a new community of folks willing to work to improve situations in general. Excellent!
Hi G,
It was fun to read your post. I so agree with you about, well, all of it. As a society, we are so caught up in “stuff” and nature gets shoved aside. I try always to get time outside whenever I can. It reminds me of who we are on this big planet. I am inspired by your words of community building. I tend to stick to myself out of comfort most times but have lately been trying to reach out more. Was reading something the other day about how some cultures tend to share community stuff like snow blowers, tools, etc. this inspires community, and also saves money and the environment. I thought it was a neat idea.
Hi Amy,
Welcome back! I’m glad you go outside as much as you can. It does remind us that we are also part of nature and to destroy nature, we destroy ourselves. That is a neat idea to share stuff and not keep duplicating everything everywhere.
Thanks! G.
I wish more people would stop and ponder the question you ask in your title. So many of our practices are so egregious that they simply cannot go on. The acquisition of stuff, the mindless surrender to endless entertainment (reality tv), the raping of the land — this is not the way to go. And I do think that a shift is taking place and more and more people are not only becoming aware but are revamping their lives and moving more towards honoring what does have innate value. It may not be happening fast enough, but I think it’s good to pause and appreciate the incremental changes. Fifty years ago, there would not have been this massive blowback over Keystone XL. Fifty years from now, if we still have an inhabitable planet, there will be even more who will have changed their focus as to how to be human.
Hi Belinda,
You are so right that the shift has happened. I agree that 50 years ago no one would try to stop any of this.
Many people now understand that we are nature and when we destroy nature, we destroy ourselves.
Historic preservation is a great example. It’s fueling the resurgence of Main Streets. Boston without Fanueil Hall? What if they’d torn that down?
Folks wants to be someplace not anyplace. That’s why we have to stop seeing everything – including humans – as a commodity!
Thanks for lending your great words here!
G.
I couldn’t have put it into words like you did, but I think that this is part of what drew me to living in Peru. There’s still a lot of concern for and talk of money, but there’s still a strong community based on giving (even if others may silently expect something in return).
I could so relate to your telling of your reaction to your scarred car. When I first arrived in Peru, I lost my digital camera and went psycho. Thankfully, I phoned my mom about it who reminded me that she didn’t raise me to be materialistic. And that’s exactly what I wanted to learn during my time in Peru. Boy, was that a shock, and boy did I need that incident in my life.
I’ve always described my life in Vancouver as being very isolated and now I see how that’s tied with the money economy. When everyone has about enough money to get by, then there’s less need to rely on each other anymore. That’s why there’s less community.
Thanks for sharing that inspiring video and encouraging me to reflect more, Julie! Warm hugs your way!
Sam,
Glad you finally made it back!
Super point about the isolation the money economy brings on. Folks are less happy now than they were in the 50’s when they didn’t have all this stuff.
What about the folks who gate themselves into their living places? Isn’t that a kind of imprisonment?
It sounds like you could write a book about coming to peru to find something. you weren’t sure what was missing, but did with community and a more simple way of life.
That sad part is that we’re trying to make them all live like us — when we aren’t being quite truthful about the downside of it.
There has to be a happier medium, we’re we live comfortably but not at the expense of living fulfilling lives.
Good lesson and word from your Mom about the camera. Every day there is a new lesson to learn!
Thanks, G.
Hi Giulietta,
Late in commenting as I’ve been absent for a while.
Thanks for sharing that film. It raises some pertinent questions and gives thoughtful insights, but a gift economy is Utopian at best. You ask if the time is ready for a modern potlatch. I’d have to answer no, and now is certainly not the time. People are hanging on to whatever they own for dear life, and they go crazy if they lose or have to part from their stuff. Here, it’s more about defending what is yours rather than sharing or giving away – unless you’re a billionaire or a philathropist.
As Samantha pointed out about Peru, there is much more sharing in the Latino culture, and probably other Third World cultures. In Mexico, for example, despite the beggars (it’s a business), the whole pueblo/family will look after the old, the infirm, or those unable to feed themselves or without a home.
The Anglo culture has always been extremely avaricious, and though conquest and grabbing foreign wealth has taken on a different face, many predominantly American international conglomerates commercially dominate much of the world.
I learned, when living and working as a low wage earner, that poorer people are more likely to share what little they have than your rich neighbor.
Why can’t we learn that, as the saying goes, “You can’t take it with you?”
Hi Penelope,
Great to hear from you. Sharing is not something we learn in the U.S. I was taught not to share and to guard my things. It caused me a lot of problems in college when I came in contact with kids who did learn to share. An essay that’s made it through a few drafts but not yet into the world.
We have so much and then want more. Probably, letting go of things makes for a happier life.
Thx, G.
[…] because he feels strongly that everyone should read it. More recently, a good friend and blogger Giulietta Nardone introduced me to Eisenstein’s short […]