That Glück poem...wow. You’ve written some really beautiful things in this post. I’ll need time to think. But this came to mind: I’m taking a class at the moment and on Thursday evenings there are only three of us and the professor. Our professor is from India. One week I brought an Indian inspired snack, and I gave him the rest to take home. He hasn’t yet returned the Tupperware; he told me in his culture one does not return an empty box, and he’s waiting until he has time to prepare something to give to me. I thought that was incredibly moving. I didn’t bring a gift of food expecting anything other than (hopefully) my classmates enjoying it. But knowing that he wants to give something in return removes some of the transactional nature of so many contemporary relationships.
Your essay touched my heart. I picked it after going through the list of subscribers writing links at FDB blog.
I want to invite you over for a tea, or dinner or movie or all of the above with my family and friends. 😊
We always have big gatherings at our place, my friends bring their parents and kids. We are immigrants. We know the real taste of loneliness and isolation… Also, we are Russian immigrants. We have a painful historic memory embedded in our souls of the destructiveness of any holly struggle “to-make-the-world-a-better-place.”
Sitting at the table together in a multigenerational setup is the only thing that matters… Do come over if you are nearby or ever visit Silicon Valley.
Don't remember who said it, "We are all on a ship on a storm tossed sea and owe each other a terrible loyalty...perhaps there is a being with that defies measured exchange rates.
I really loved reading this! Have you ever read anything about the gift economy? It completely relates to the idea of “mutual indebtedness” that you arrive at. Sacred Economics by Charles Eisenstein is a good source for more information about it. Also the last chapter of “Long Life, Honey in the Heart” by Martin Prechtel is all about the principle of mutual indebtedness and how it functions in one specific indigenous culture. Thanks for writing this and sharing!
Thought provoking essay, Michelle. Feels like another instrument added to your orchestra of thoughts on "embeddedness".
Growing up the states, there's unquestioned, cultural euphoria around "doing whatever you want". We've even codified it in slogans:
"Have it your way", says Burger King, where I am the king of how things are done, or at least my burger. "Be your own boss" is another particularly robust one. Even "live your life to the fullest" carries not only an implicit idea that personal choice is central to doing so, but an explicit statement that one lives *their own life*, rather than a collective one.
What would slogans & catch-phases be like in this alternate world you hint at?
That Glück poem...wow. You’ve written some really beautiful things in this post. I’ll need time to think. But this came to mind: I’m taking a class at the moment and on Thursday evenings there are only three of us and the professor. Our professor is from India. One week I brought an Indian inspired snack, and I gave him the rest to take home. He hasn’t yet returned the Tupperware; he told me in his culture one does not return an empty box, and he’s waiting until he has time to prepare something to give to me. I thought that was incredibly moving. I didn’t bring a gift of food expecting anything other than (hopefully) my classmates enjoying it. But knowing that he wants to give something in return removes some of the transactional nature of so many contemporary relationships.
Your essay touched my heart. I picked it after going through the list of subscribers writing links at FDB blog.
I want to invite you over for a tea, or dinner or movie or all of the above with my family and friends. 😊
We always have big gatherings at our place, my friends bring their parents and kids. We are immigrants. We know the real taste of loneliness and isolation… Also, we are Russian immigrants. We have a painful historic memory embedded in our souls of the destructiveness of any holly struggle “to-make-the-world-a-better-place.”
Sitting at the table together in a multigenerational setup is the only thing that matters… Do come over if you are nearby or ever visit Silicon Valley.
Don't remember who said it, "We are all on a ship on a storm tossed sea and owe each other a terrible loyalty...perhaps there is a being with that defies measured exchange rates.
I really loved reading this! Have you ever read anything about the gift economy? It completely relates to the idea of “mutual indebtedness” that you arrive at. Sacred Economics by Charles Eisenstein is a good source for more information about it. Also the last chapter of “Long Life, Honey in the Heart” by Martin Prechtel is all about the principle of mutual indebtedness and how it functions in one specific indigenous culture. Thanks for writing this and sharing!
Thought provoking essay, Michelle. Feels like another instrument added to your orchestra of thoughts on "embeddedness".
Growing up the states, there's unquestioned, cultural euphoria around "doing whatever you want". We've even codified it in slogans:
"Have it your way", says Burger King, where I am the king of how things are done, or at least my burger. "Be your own boss" is another particularly robust one. Even "live your life to the fullest" carries not only an implicit idea that personal choice is central to doing so, but an explicit statement that one lives *their own life*, rather than a collective one.
What would slogans & catch-phases be like in this alternate world you hint at?
"Have it our way"
"Embed yourself in something bigger"
"Live our life to the most interdependent"
:)