So the blog post regarding Gifting that I found most interesting come from....
Megan Larsen
http://meganlarsen.blogspot.com/ @megannlarsen15
While reading their different point of views I noticed that there were many common ideas that I've always heard about gifting. Let's take Rentfro's post for example. He states, " I personally do not believe anyone gives as they say, "from the bottom of their heart", and doesn't expect anything in return." He later on gives an scenario in which a local church is doing "the Lords work", feeding a homeless man and claiming that they expecting nothing in return but in actuality hope to see the homeless man in church. When you take a moment to step back and analyze the scenario one could agree with Rentfro's point of view because the church either expects the homeless man to come to God through them or to change his life. This point of view often leads others to believe that humanity is selfish in the sense that they giving gifts for no reason creates a positive stimulus within the body in which we crave. Basically, we give gifts just to feel good about ourselves which makes it a selfish act. Megan's post had a similar idea behind it but she took it a different direction by saying that gifting isn't limited only to physical objects and that social media can be used as a tool to give gifts to the world. Personally I'm not a true blogger because I don't care for the opinions of others typed up in paragraphs with a 12 pt font, nor do I believe anyone else actually care for my opinion on gifting in the last paragraph of this page. I also use places like instagram to post pictures for my friends to like which makes me feel good. I don't consider it a gift but I guess that some could see it that way. This is why I can agree with Megan's point of view and Renfro's as well.
As I dove into Matt's post I was thinking he'd share the same ideology about gifting as Rentfro and he did, but in a different way. Though Matt believes that the idea of gifting is selfish he went a different direction with it by making the claim, " Gifting gives power over someone else, you gave them something they didn't have before or you shared a social media post that they would have never seen if you had not shared. All of these "gifts" give power over someone making them higher on the social ladder. " Now this is something else huh! I never looked at gift giving as some sort of power. Then I remembered how shitty I felt when my ex girlfriend got me something for our 6th month mark after we agreed not to exchange gifts. She whipped out the gift and the looked around the room as if I was hiding her gift somewhere out of site. Let's just say she stormed out of my front door pissed off after the movie I put on finished. I knew then that I had to get her a gift or she'd hold that over my head forever, or at least until I did something else wrong. The notion that gifting gives a person power isn't too crazy of an idea and is something that I could potentially get behind.
Now here's the part you've a been waiting for where Damn Danny gives his point of view on gifting. I'm about to sound life a real nerd because I pulled my idea of gifting from a popular Anime television show titled "Full Metal Alchemist". In order for you to understand where i'm going with this i'm going to have to break it down for you.
1. Alchemy is the science of understanding the structure of matter, breaking it down, then reconstructing it as something else. It can even make gold from lead. But alchemy is a science, so it must follow the natural laws: To create, something of equal value must be lost. This is the principle of Equivalent Exchange.
STAY WITH ME NOW!!
The idea of equivalent exchange isn't too far fetched is it? Even though it's a term used in science it seems to hold true for humanity. There is nothing on this earth that we do in which we don't expect anything in return. I believe that this is part of the natural balance of the universe. Just think about it, the world is give and take. A honey bee wakes up everyday knowing that it will be able to drink the sweet nectar from a rose on a bush. The plant in return is pollinated by the bee and continues to live on. I bet that bee doesn't consciously know it's helping in the pollinating process but he sure feels good as hell when his belly is full of nectar. The plants are also able to continue their pollination cycles which allows them to exist a little while longer. There was an equivalent exchange that took place there and it happens with everything in this universe, especially in humanity. Full metal Alchemist makes a statement at the beginning of every episode that says....
2. Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange.
Whether you are gaining something physical or gaining satisfaction gifting is stemmed from the natural balance of the universe, equivalent exchange. Which is why you feel obligated to give gifts in return when you receive one. BOOM! MIND BLOWN!
