What do you give away freely? What do you keep from others? Does it feel different when you give some things vs other things or to some people vs. other people?
What about if no one seems to appreciate what you give? What if they appreciate but don’t realize it was you that gave it to them?
These are all questions I ask myself when I’m feeling the way I’m feeling right now.
I want to be someone who gives freely, but I also don’t want to invite anyone who takes advantage.
I want to be recognized for what I have to offer, not because I get off on praise but because recognition can become currency.
Imagine you knew you could help shape the direction of a city but no one would know it was you who engineered the change of direction. The change may benefit countless people but no one would thank you for it, and you might remain poor and without any status in the community, so you’d lack the ability to influence things directly, even if you could engineer a change in the overall current.
This may just be my own insecurities speaking, the weakest link in my psyche but I feel I need to write about it to reorganize my thoughts and heal my psyche.
Do you help others knowing that it’s entirely possible that you will be left behind? Withholding your gifts won’t benefit anyone, not even you. The only thing you get is the satisfaction that no one will be able to take advantage of you.
Well with the experience of being left behind, it feels like way too vulnerable a situation to want to give freely.
Not all skills are easily marketable. You can twist many of them into something that is marketable but in the process, you often lose the substance.
Take for instance, someone who is great at finding hidden gems that like to remain hidden. You could create a travel agency that takes people to these hidden gems and earn off your skills, but then you are betraying the trust of others.
This is the kind of predicament I often find myself in.
Many of the most obvious ways in which I could create more reliable income streams and live a more stable life would require me to exploit, and that’s not something I want to do. And many of the ways I could contribute to society without exploiting would require me to either distort the substance, turning something beautiful into something ordinary OR to give up any guarantee that I’ll be compensated.
As I learn more about abundance and how to build it as a state of mind first, I realize that trust is what I’m after.
Trust needs to be built, not given, but someone has to make the first move, and if no one else is going to I have to…and it’s not as if no one has. Some people have given me gifts that I could never repay, and without any expectation of anything in return.
Life has been good to me, it’s only hard to realize that when I compare myself to others or some ideal life that I’m working my way towards. People have been good to me too. It’s hard to remember that when it doesn’t happen every day and when so many people out there are stingy with their energy…hell they are even stingy with likes on web2 which are totally free, they are stingy to give the benefit of the doubt to anyone….and so the voices of all those helpful, beautiful souls are drowned out easily if we don’t focus on them.
So what happens if we do focus on them? Suddenly we feel that the world isn’t so stingy after all, it’s just the ghost of others fears that make us think it is.
We focus on the lions and bears that take what they want. We don’t focus on the trees that bear fruit regardless. Both are part of nature and we have the ability to channel either.
The tree doesn’t worry that it won’t succeed or be provided by sunlight. It knows how abundant the light of the sun is and it can provide enough pollen to know that it’s will will spread.
Which do I want to channel? A hungry animal living in a cave? An animal of prey, constantly living in fear? Or a tree in a place with sufficient rain, with fruit that gives without a second thought and basks in an infinite supply of light?
Maybe if someone comes and cut me or my friends down, I can become the predator for just a moment. If there is a disaster or not enough rain, and I’ve got to move, I can become the prey for just a moment, but I’d like the tree with its life of abundance to become the default.
I remember when I only had 3 songs. I wasn’t sure how I’d ever create any more and I worried so much that someone would steal them. Then over the years I wrote another 15 or 20 songs and realized I could probably create a lot more than that if I were to focus more time on it. Suddenly it became a lot less scary.
I also realized if I share the songs publicly there would be a record that I had created them first.
Now I hear the theme for Severance using a melody very similar to one that I wrote, obviously no one stole it from me since I hadn’t shared this song publicly, but the writer and I both stumbled upon a similar melody. I don’t feel threatened or angry at all. I can change my melody a bit to sound less like the theme and maybe discover something even better.
So I am still worrying that I won’t be compensated for the knowledge or tools that I share with others for free…but I’ve got to remember that I have way way way more to give, so much that I will never run out, and that so much of it is so original and special that it can’t be successfully copied. When what you share is 100% you, it’s 100c harder to copy it and anyone who COULD copy it wouldn’t have to because they’d have the skills to create something just as unique without copying g anything.
I’m not sure how well I did at expressing the depth of these feelings, as it could apply to all kinds of things, not just art and secret spots.
Imagine you see a weak point in Elon Musks rocket ship that has nothing to do with engineering. If you tell him you’ll probably get a thanks and he will build his rocket to mars and continue getting richer and likely forget about you because life is so full of so many things and to him it just felt like a tiny tip. Only you could feel the weight that that one tip carried, and maybe only if you have the confidence to give yourself that recognition.
I may write more on this or I may not. Let’s see how I feel in a few days.
Links to my music and fiction at linktree
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These concepts are really hard to deal with.
First, because we are using the wrong words. You can't get there from here if you do not have a proper map.
Second, not all things are equal. Is the respect of a rich person worth more or less than the respect of an honest person? (and you have made a lot of equivalences that are not quite right.)
Third, it is the times we live in. In days of yore, we had to sell record albums. Today we sell mp3 downloads. But the most profitable has been giving it away, with a donation button nearby. But, each of these steps requires a lot of infrastructure changes. The next step is coming, but not here yet
Forth, you want something that doesn't exist for most people.
The best advice i can give during this time is to become crypto rich, and be monetarily self sufficient. And then, do what you want, and help who you can.
That helping a city from behind the scenes rarely works. In a spiritual sense, everyone in the town is part of the change. In our current time, money speaks loudest, and only those with the money can make much change. In front of, or behind the scenes.
This was most definitely an oversimplification, just trying to work out my own feelings so I didn’t provide the entire context which would have made it 4-5x longer.
So far I’ve valued the respect of people who carry similar values to me, so I’d probably choose the respect of the honest person, although if I could have both without sacrificing my values I would.
I have no illusions about how crazy this is sounds to most people 😆 this is mostly a spiritual take, so that part is bound to create a gap with anyone who isn’t a similar kind of spiritual, and also based on certain experiences I’ve had which very few people have. I tried to live without money for 2-3 years. I was taken care of and gave and receive all kinds of kindness.
I recognize some of it was pity though and I won’t be able to rely on any pity when I’m doing well for myself, nor do I want to. But not all of it was pity. I’ve so many flavors of human, and different levels of harmony vs dissonance within different types of people.
Multiply the MBTI 16 types by every interest and then multiply by every kind of priority you can, then multiple by all possible levels of self love vs self hatred, trust or naivety and a myriad of other things.
I can’t claim I’ve seen it all or know anywhere close to enough, but I know things exist that many people don’t, some that would warm the common persons heart and some that would keep them awake at night.
I see one common thread in successful people (regardless of what kind of success we are talking about) is that they put their goals or ideals first and foremost and never take their eyes off them, nor do they take failure or success personally so they constantly adapt
also with regards to crypto, if I had started this level of focus 20 years ago or 5 years ago even, I think I could have made it work without, but I do think that’s how it’ll work out for me naturally, with crypto being the game changer.
And changing a city isn’t as hard as people think, whether it’s out in front or from behind the scenes…depending on how big you see a city. I’m referring to my station, which has at least tens of thousands of people. But things are much easier to impact on Asia where people are so concentrated together.
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Haha, I've had that paradox before. And I kept quiet, although it probably would have been better to share. It is, indeed, a test. A test of what our true intentions are. What do we want to help or recognition?
It reminds me of a story I read about a thief who steals a talisman from a master. The thief tells him if you don't teach me how to use this talisman I will keep it and you will lose your power. And the sage replies, I am a master and I can create another talisman, but you have a talisman and with it you cannot create another master.
I think not doing the right thing ultimately hindered me, but then again, it's kind of a test. For everyone it is different.
Best regards to you!
that’s an awesome parallel! Thank you for sharing that!!
I wonder about what it was with regards with for you? No pressure to share if it’s private or if you aren’t in the mood to share
Nah, it's just that I got greedy with knowledge and didn't want to share it because I wanted personal recognition.
It's like people who have a great idea and don't want to tell you about it for fear of having it stolen.
And so often the idea is not so great after all.
To be honest with myself, I tend to feel happier giving to someone I'm in love with than a Total stranger. Yes I am benevolent but I seem more benevolent with those I know personally
I get it, I prioritize the people close to me, but what if what the stranger needs and what you have to offer are the same and what your friend needs isn’t something you have?
Giving can feel both freeing and frustrating at the same time. The whole tree vs. predator thing really stuck with me, being abundant V surviving
yeah, it makes sense to be in hunting mode when you need food for today or tomorrow, but after you’ve stockpiled for a week or a month or 3, this mentality will hinder all further goals and make you destructive and self destructive, at least that’s a pattern I’ve noticed.
I may not want to use my crypto in order to survive because once it’s gone, I don’t have anything else, but since I have it, it should give me the peace of mind to pursue higher goals than just food and security.
this is great way of thinking and innovation comes from Peace of mind in thinking
It’s interesting how you explore the idea of giving freely while also recognizing the risk of being taken advantage of. The tree vs. predator analogy really stands out—choosing abundance over survival instincts isn’t easy, especially when compensation isn’t guaranteed. Your reflection on music and originality also makes a great point—when what you create is uniquely yours, it’s hard to replicate.
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We've always heard the story of the Good Samaritan, but the concept itself is deeper than what we can appreciate. I felt strongly about your perspective because, although it's a noble act, it also has conditions and limits on the actions that affect intentionality.