Sam here, with Chapter 1 of Lewis Hyde’s The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World. Loved the comments last time. Thanks, all. This week I want to make a list of gift-giving guidelines. Hyde isn’t so regulated, but his principles challenge and encourage. Why not gather them in one place?
Guidelines for a healthy gift economy:
1. Keep the gift moving.
“And the ungrateful son had to feed the toad every day, otherwise it would eat part of his face. And thus he went ceaselessly hither and yon about in the world.” I just love this folk tale by the brothers Grimm (page 12).
2. Don’t expect a gift in return.
Hyde quotes ethnographer Bronislaw Malinowski here: “[T]he counter-gift…cannot by enforced by any kind of coercion.” How many times we’ve said, See if I invite HER over for dinner again! Our hospitality quickly turns to hostility when the recipient doesn’t reciprocate (ref. Henri Nouwen).
3. Save bartering for yard sales.
“Partners in barter talk and talk until they strike a balance, but the gift is given in silence.”
4. Use, consume, or eat the gift.
“[W]hen the gift is used, it is not used up. Quite the opposite, in fact: the gift that is not used will be lost, while the one that is passed remains abundant.” Sound familiar? “Whoever keeps his life will lose it…”? Yep, Matthew 10:39. Manna also comes to mind. And the parable of the talents. And gift-cards to Circuit City.
5. Enlarge the gift circle.
“[T]wo people do not make much of a circle.”
6. Include the Lord in the circle.
Okay, Hyde doesn’t mention this, but he makes the Old Testament reference to first fruits: “The inclusion of the Lord in the circle…changes the ego in which the gift moves in a way unlike any other addition. It is enlarged beyond the tribal ego and beyond nature…. The gift leaves all boundary and circles into mystery.” I’m glad the Lord enters the circle even when I don’t include him.
Others I should have mentioned?
Seedhead photo by Claire Burge. Used with permission. Post written by Sam Van Eman.
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OTHER BOOK CLUB POSTS:
Laura’s Blowing in the Wind
LL’s Let Go, Write Strong, Build Readership
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Nothing profound. Just wanted to leave a comment, because… we finally CAN again. [sigh of contentment].
Way to uphold #5, Fraggle Doozers!
Um… what? [she says in a gifty way, full of encouragement]
Doozers used to build and repair structures on Fraggle Rock. Today they build and repair this site. Today they enlarged the gift circle (#5 above) by fixing the Comment section so we could have this conversation about a somewhat obscure pop-culture reference.
Sam – I finally have caught up with you and have not only purchased the book, but also just finished chapter one last night. So good timing here.
First of all, great summary! This is an interesting start, and I am finding myself wondering where the author is going with all of this. How does it relate to art? I guess I’ll find out soon enough.
Anyway, the thing that struck me most in Ch. 1 was that constant reminder of the paradoxical blessing of giving things away. Whether it is financial, our time, our creative work, a gift, pleasant words of encouragement, or whatever, there is a universal truth of the gift’s ability to inspire and have a ripple effect in blessing others.
It makes me think about those of us in the Blogging world who are attempting to market and promote our sites to build a loyal audience – do we share our comments/twitters with the online wolrd as a gift to others, or just to drive traffic to our sites? Hmm. This definitely has me thinking.
Bradley, some of us are simply self-promoting. And by accident we give gifts to others in the process. Some of us set out to give gifts and we accidentally get promoted by others (a back-door form of self-promotion). Some of us do both…
Some of us do neither (and I’m guessing that doesn’t bode well for the future of our blogs.)
Glad to have you with us, Brad.
I hear you about the motivations behind gift-giving. I’m not sure which of LL’s categories I fall into…all of them maybe? I’ve been criticized for not marketing my own work more, but it’s always felt uncomfortable to me. I’d make a LOUSY salesman – like Tommy Boy before he learns how to sell brake pads.
Still, I understand that if you have something important to say, it isn’t much use keeping it to yourself.
i am starting to think of
the Love of God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit
as the gift.
the giving of the gift….
i am starting to think of that
as relationship
nAncY, I find it helpful to think in this way, also. Gift language is generous and pro-active and other-centered.
An Alternative to Capitalism?
The following link, takes you to a “utopian” article, entitled “Home of the Brave?” which I wrote and appeared in the Athenaeum Library of Philosophy:
http://evans-experientialism.freewebspace.com/steinsvold.htm
John Steinsvold
Thanks for the link, John. Fun to think about. Lewis Hyde seems to lean toward a similar perspective, at least in the sense of keeping our valuables in motion; holding lightly to them; giving and receiving without traditional market exchange.
If you have a copy of the book, he addresses a bit of an age-old tension between capitalism and this more socialist approach, at the end of Chapter 2.
sam van eman wrote: “Thanks for the link, John. Fun to think about.f”.
I think of Joe Biden’s comment that our economy is in danger of “tanking”. The Vice President has a habit of being more honest than he should. At any rate, should we not explore alternatives to capitalism?
John Steinsvold
Others if you’re still tuned: Any thoughts to John’s question?
yes, i think that each of us should explore alternatives to capitalism. i could all start with a change of heart about the way i think about things and do things in my own life.
i can start by making small changes in the way that i treat my family and neighbors, by giving what i can and using what i have. sharing of goods and services with my neighbors. i have made a very small step by actually “using” cash instead of my credit card more and more when i buy something with money. a small step in the right direction.
for me, bigs changes in a positive direction usually take a lot of time and commitment to a change of heart and mind by the Spirit. changes for the worse usually come easily.
I just got the book in the mail after vacation and made my way through chapter 1! Woot! (I have some catching up to do!). This chapter was very refreshing about the essence of gift giving. The outline on the blog was helpful for putting it all together.
What was also striking was the connection I found it makes with the nature of support raising and the way we view such a thing. As I support raise my salary, I can often forget that asking people to give isn’t a means to an end but a life-giving process. We need to be calling people to give and it’s okay to ask. Some great connections through the book. Very encouraging.
Lindsay, glad you joined us! I’ve been thinking about the same connections. It’s just one of the ways I’ve benefited from reading this book so far.
Gather lose change and place it in a jar. After a few weeks take the changetothe bank & have them cahs it for you. Withthis money buy some food forthe less blessed at Christmas even Thanskgiving.
Jan