We in the western world commonly define life success through our capacity to access goods and services. Money provides a unified system of access to goods and services and has become the most important of all commodities due to its function in providing said access. Thus, the abundance of money in a person or group’s pocket has come to be equated to life success. A lack of money is then equated to being unsuccessful and can lead to a devaluation of human life.
Besides human devaluation, there is another major problem with defining success through money. Money, like all material resources, is finite; there is only so much to go around. In order for one person to get money, he or she must take it from another; in so doing, robbing that person of their ability to access goods and services. We spend most of our waking lives in an effort to take money from a person or group while thinking of more and more clever ways to do so. We define ourselves as individuals by the means through which we take money from others, i.e. one’s job. Consequently, equating money with success creates a competitive reality which divides humans from each other and forces them to compete for access to the worlds goods and services. This atmosphere of competition breeds distrust, fear, hate, greed and loneliness as humans are constantly struggling against one another to be successful and survive. When we come to the understanding that equating money with success ultimately divides humans against one another and creates a devaluing of human life, it becomes clear that as a society we need to redefine what it means to be a successful human being.
How can we redefine what it means to be successful to allow full access to goods and services for all humans while maintaining, and even encouraging, trust and love between people? If we define success in terms of how much of a finite material good an individual or group has, this will divide us against one another as there is only X amount of any material commodity to go around. What would happen then if we defined success according to something that was infinite as opposed to finite?
A human’s capacity to give is infinite. Giving is not restricted to any material good or service. The act of giving has a value which is not proportional to the thing which is given. There is value in the act of giving itself, and our capacity to give is limitless. What then would the world be like if success is defined by our acts of giving as individuals and as groups? What if the act of giving became the new currency? If acts of giving defined life success, then the greatest gift a person could give another would be to increase that person’s ability to give. GDP (Gross Domestic Product) would become GDG (Gross Domestic Giving) as we shift towards measuring how many acts of giving we are producing as opposed to how much product we are moving. Commodities would continue to exchange hands; goods and services would be abundantly accessible for all; a new incentive for the creation, advancement, and implementation of technology would arise. To define human success through acts of giving would create an atmosphere of trust instead of distrust, love and compassion instead of fear and hate, generosity instead of greed, and community instead of loneliness.
Imagine a world where we collectively derive meaning and purpose in life from our limitless acts giving.
Besides human devaluation, there is another major problem with defining success through money. Money, like all material resources, is finite; there is only so much to go around. In order for one person to get money, he or she must take it from another; in so doing, robbing that person of their ability to access goods and services. We spend most of our waking lives in an effort to take money from a person or group while thinking of more and more clever ways to do so. We define ourselves as individuals by the means through which we take money from others, i.e. one’s job. Consequently, equating money with success creates a competitive reality which divides humans from each other and forces them to compete for access to the worlds goods and services. This atmosphere of competition breeds distrust, fear, hate, greed and loneliness as humans are constantly struggling against one another to be successful and survive. When we come to the understanding that equating money with success ultimately divides humans against one another and creates a devaluing of human life, it becomes clear that as a society we need to redefine what it means to be a successful human being.
How can we redefine what it means to be successful to allow full access to goods and services for all humans while maintaining, and even encouraging, trust and love between people? If we define success in terms of how much of a finite material good an individual or group has, this will divide us against one another as there is only X amount of any material commodity to go around. What would happen then if we defined success according to something that was infinite as opposed to finite?
A human’s capacity to give is infinite. Giving is not restricted to any material good or service. The act of giving has a value which is not proportional to the thing which is given. There is value in the act of giving itself, and our capacity to give is limitless. What then would the world be like if success is defined by our acts of giving as individuals and as groups? What if the act of giving became the new currency? If acts of giving defined life success, then the greatest gift a person could give another would be to increase that person’s ability to give. GDP (Gross Domestic Product) would become GDG (Gross Domestic Giving) as we shift towards measuring how many acts of giving we are producing as opposed to how much product we are moving. Commodities would continue to exchange hands; goods and services would be abundantly accessible for all; a new incentive for the creation, advancement, and implementation of technology would arise. To define human success through acts of giving would create an atmosphere of trust instead of distrust, love and compassion instead of fear and hate, generosity instead of greed, and community instead of loneliness.
Imagine a world where we collectively derive meaning and purpose in life from our limitless acts giving.
Giving for a Living.
