The Gift of Giving

I am increasingly of the belief that the desire to own more is a type of sociopathology. Which doesn't say much for many of the very wealthy in our global society, and less for the political system that generates such behaviour. Certainly, there is a necessity to satisfy one's needs (indeed, this should be in abundance), then a smaller quantity of items that satisfy some utilitarian comforts or vocational requirements, and finally, perhaps a few precious memorable items of life's experiences that are of value to one's expression as an authentic and actualised person. Of course, I have written about this before, "The Continuum of Needs and Wants". But outside of that, more is gained from the gift of giving. On Saturday evening I attended a wonderful birthday gathering of a new friend who is rather fond of elephants; I was able to gift them a rather adorable brass sculpture of said creature; they are overjoyed, and I am happy for their joy. Today, I gave a friend an old book of the mystic medic Paracelsus, which they named their AI-defeating software in the Eclipse Phase RPG that I ran for five years. After all, in the course of the story, they did save all of transhumanity. A couple of weeks prior I gave another friend, Justin A., a very belated 50th birthday gift, a rare and limited print of Ron Cobb cartoon, after discovering it was his favourite. Or over the weekend, there was the sheer happiness and relief for lei_loo who was under some stress with an assignment where I could help out with enough content and leads for them to be able to take their own path without anxiety. I will take this opportunity to also thank Rodney B., who on multiple occasions now has helped me move my too many possessions from The Asylum to The Grand Mausoleum.

All of these are, of course, examples of gifts that have immediate and personal feedback on witnessing the joy of the recipient. The giver gets a lot out of the gift of giving when they witness the response of the recipient. It is, perhaps, a little more difficult when the recipient is not someone that the giver knows or the gift is indirect. But that certainly does not excuse the selfish complaints of those who begrudge the provision of public welfare to those in need. The privilege that many of us have as being residents in countries that are well-developed in terms of physical and social infrastructure, with at least some semblance of health care, etc, no matter how imperfect, is often brought into stark contrast to those places that lack such basics. It adds to the sociopathology hypothesis of our financially stratified society, that it is the poor that are in proportion to wealth and income, are far more generous in giving to charity than the wealthy. Personally, I must confess to some guilt in recent weeks of journal entries on my own relatively modest physical ailments and other misfortunes in affairs of the heart, when there is the stark realisation that scores of people have died in floods in Indonesia and Timor-Leste. Their lives are just as important as mine, and I feel it almost churlish of me to raise my own difficulties when my fellow global citizens and effective neighbours are suffering not only the loss of their meagre personal possessions but even their lives. I can only encourage my gentle readers to please consider donating to appropriate organisations to help those stricken by such a disaster.