Reciprocity. Trade. Barter. Rare for one to hear someone talking the concept down. Quite the opposite, most people you meet give it lip service as something they seek to do at the very least. Perhaps, you might have a more lawful friend who reminds you some activities should be claimed on your taxes…blah, blah, yawn.
Reciprocity covers all human history and was our currency long before we had… ah, currency. It also, even today, bleeds into other powerful subjects, such as relationships, interaction with friends and family, and affects places like school and working environments.
The IRS defines Bartering as “the act of trading goods or services between two or more parties without the use of money. Bartering can benefit individuals, companies and countries that see a mutual benefit in exchanging goods and services rather than cash. It also enables those who are lacking hard currency to obtain goods and services.”
And. of course. they want their cut. “The only thing that is not legal (about Bartering) is failing to claim bartering on your taxes. “
The sad thing is most of us don’t Barter enough for even the most concerned citizen to worry about how to file on their bartering activities. However, if we look at things in a non-economic sense, much of our lives are an arrangement of social barters.
Actions such as parents giving their children taxi service, friends letting a buddy grab a beer, and helping a coworker with something, are overlooked as a series of complex barters. Things can have more subtle layers such as, the guy who cracks people up, the nice person of the opposite sex who always leaves you feeling a little better after a conversation, or the dude who brings extra food camping. Much of this unnoticed Reciprocity goes unpaid and nothing can ever be equal in this world, but even these small social dances alter our perception of ourselves and others.
Other types of Reciprocity are more obvious. How many of us have helped a friend move, who has, in the past, helped us? If you mooch some food or beverages the last time you visited a buddy, most of you will think to bring a little extra something with you the next time you visit.
I suppose someone could build up their Reciprocity ‘karma’ intentionally, but it is usually an unacknowledged deal between people. Such things are almost never mentioned other than a few sentences of praise when someone throws down for you, or a grumble about someone nearing the end of their mooching rope.
Again, let us harken back to days of yore. Slow down and contemplate the majority of our existence as a species. The invention of money is a very recent event. Many have speculated organized religion appears in roughly the same time period as currency. The control of property along with the control of your mind.
So much of life can involve running on a treadmill, not for yourself, but for others. We can feel trapped under an imaginary ceiling. “This is how much money you are allowed this month for the amount of time you’re willing to throw away.” Barter fights against such a concept. In theory, there is no limit to what you could achieve. Kind words and noble acts are paid off with acquiring things which you might have waited months for. Often you are doing a favor for someone in the process.
We spin the win win.
So what is my point?
Reciprocity is a system of honor hundreds of times older than our current method of measuring goods. Sometimes newer can be better, but staying under the radar and living free is better still. We have enough which rips us away from our animal nature. Reciprocity brings us back to the soul of man and womankind. The ability to judge yourself what is right, just, and measure it as you see fit and not have it decided by nameless others one has never met.
Whether it happens online or with your oldest friend, we all save when things are shared instead of discarded, when trips are made together, and when events, projects, and activities are done with others.
Isn’t this what life is about? So spend some time helping someone you care for, flip off the tax man, and make the world a little bit of a better place.
You can grab some of my fiction here, which I promise has nothing to do with this.
WildernessPunk 