Starting a Gift Circle

"We don't trade with our family; only with strangers. Trade separates us; and this has led to our global crises today." - Brice Royer - founder of Gift Economy Vancouver

What is on your heart right now? Is there something you need? A ride to work? A listening ear? Childcare? What if you could relieve yourself of the one thing weighing on your mind right now, just by asking? 

"But, Beck," you say, "one does not simply ask for things." And my question to you is, "why not?" 

We have been taught not to be needy. Not to ask others for things. Not to give to others unless you receive something in return. But I challenge you to ask yourself this simple question, why not? Why not offer things to others as you would for your own family? Why not ask for something you need?

Things that have been given in our first few meetings include childcare, home baked bread, a place to hold our meetings, and scrap wood for a project. 

Why Give?

1. Giving is good for your health. Research suggests that altruistic behaviour can help decrease stress. A study conducted in 2006 by Johns Hopkins University and the University of Tennessee, showed that people who provided support to others, had lower blood pressure than those participants who did not. This suggests a physical benefit to those who give. 
2. Giving improves your happiness and sense of contentment. Scientists believe that "giving of oneself" can release endorphins in the brain, producing a "helper's high."
3. Giving promotes social connection. “Being kind and generous leads you to perceive others more positively and more charitably,” writes Sonja Lyubomirsky in her book The How of Happiness, and this “fosters a heightened sense of interdependence and cooperation in your social community.”



What Can I Give?
You may think you have nothing to give, but the scrap paper in your closet may be just what a scrapbooker is looking for; the half-full paint tin in your garage may be just what someone needs to repaint their front door; the dandelions you've recently pulled from your garden, may be a tasty treat for your neighbour's chickens. 

Gifts need not be material things. Do you speak a second language? Are you particularly handy? Perhaps you know how to knit and could teach someone wanting to learn. 

For more information on the Gift Economy and how you can start your own Gift Circle, visit http://www.gifteconomy.ca/. If you are in the southern Alberta area and would like to join our Gift Circle, check us out here.