Towards an economy of gifts

Sometimes, I wonder what my dog Mochi thinks. I peer into his dark brown eyes and wonder what thoughts preoccupy him. Perhaps there’s nothing–he just gazes back at me. Right now, he sleeps so peacefully, seemingly without a care in the world. He is so fully present to whatever is happening in the moment (and also so easily distracted, for better or worse). He fully trusts that we will take care of him–meals twice a day, walks, access to a bathroom, treats galore, space to run around to his heart’s content. Adventures to the dog park, hikes, meeting lots of humans and furry friends. Even the things he doesn’t love–teeth brushing, grooming, cleaning–adds to his quality of life, even if it’s unbeknownst to him. 

I wonder this because I want to live in such a world–a world that is suffused with the bounty of care, provision and love. Of power not rooted in violence or coercion, but in generative sacrifice. Spiritually, I claim to believe this. Practically, I don’t always feel this. I think transactionally, like our capitalist economy often teaches us to. If I pay $__, I must receive exactly what I paid for. But what if money doesn’t fully capture the essence of the world we move through? I have experienced so much richness in the care and presence of others that can’t be counted in dollars and cents. In short, I have been given so much.

What if the economy we live in is full of more gifts than we can even imagine? What if we could trust that we will be amply provided for, through means we can’t even imagine right now? How would we wake up for that life?