Thanks for the great sync feedback OQ! I both Oprah and Shirley. And I agree with you.

Like with the dream of serving/receiving food...there truly is enough for ALL to eat. There is plenty even. (But how many people were served dishes they didn't like that sat uneaten on their plate?) The earth provides for all her children. But when we begin to sacrifice our own needs in order to help others meet their needs, we severely lose efficiency and some get what they never wanted, and some get more than they need without putting in effort. And this creates imbalance and enhances duality.

Much as it is in the world today where a top tiny percentage in the world have all the wealth (that they could never spend) and a huge percentage of people have very little or none. This is all thanks to money and removing value from life and putting it onto something (a symbol) that can be amassed. If value existed in its original form, for example, an apple (as opposed to $.50/apple), it would be much more difficult for one person to horde all the apples while others went without. And if you couldn't trade apples (as a new form of dollar and yet another value transfer), there would be no real impetus to hoard the apples. And everyone that wanted/needed an apple, could have an apple if they put in the effort to get to a tree and pluck the fruit themselves.

So there is truth in the saying that money is the root of all evil. It certainly is a huge component of imbalance in our world by removing value from life itself and putting it onto a piece of paper.

I am not in favour of gift giving because it further accentuates this problem. If I have $50 and decide to spend it on a gift for someone, no matter what I buy them, chances are, it is not something they would chose for themselves or need. It might be, but not likely because I'm not "them" and I can't possibly know them as well as they know themselves and their own desires. If I gave that person the $50, then they could buy what they wanted for themselves and that would solve this problem of getting them something they don't want.

However, the concept behind gift giving is to supposedly do something for someone, and this isn't really doing anything for them except exchanging dollars from one person to another. And now, if it is their turn to buy me a gift and they give me $50, they are just handing the money back. So why start this whole exchange at all? It just becomes a waste of time and really has no meaning. And the results of monetary gift giving are likely to be a feeling of guilt if you don't give, or of being cheated if you give to someone and they do not reciprocate to you.

Which leads me to another point. Giving money or gifts is harmful anyway. Because it lacks the balance of EARNING. When someone is given something they didn't earn, it removes value. It creates complacency and steals the drive to achieve. When you solve people's problems (by giving them something they want or getting them out of a bind) they are robbed of the growth, strength, learning how-to, and satisfaction that would be gained by finding a way to get what they need on their own. Receiving is only truly appreciated through the balance of the effort required to attain.

For example, if a person steals something small (when they are a child) gets caught, but is bailed out (given pardon) without consequence by a compassionate parent, the human tendency is for the child to believe they can do it again without consequence. The stealing can become larger and larger until finally it does catch up and the penalties are enormous. Suddenly a simple lesson that might have been learned early on, is now huge and very costly.

My mom had a very strong ethic against stealing. She told me when she was 5 y.o. she took a candy bar from a local market. The owner saw her, thought she was cute and didn't want to confront her, but knew her father and so he called him. She said she was so pleased having her free candy bar and as she was walking down the street toward home, her father was marching angrily toward her. All the good feeling drained away. He gave her a stern lecture and made her walk back to the store, return the candy bar, apologize and promise never to take again. And it affected her for the rest of her life that you don't take from others without paying.

On the other hand, I know of a boy who did the same thing - stole candy from a convenience store. The owner called the police and the police brought him home, which was traumatic. But his father felt sorry for him and didn't want to punish him further. Several other thefts occurred over time in which the father could not bring himself to punish the boy. Years later the boy found himself in prison for theft.

Off for now...