Leaning into the Gift Economy and More Naps
A winter invitation to do nothing until its time to do something
Welcome back to The Link, a bi-weekly circularity newsletter making the connection between regenerative farming and you, every other Tuesday.
I am not a bear. I am not The Bear, Jeremy Allen White, but congrats on all the recent wins my guy.
I do, however feel like this Patagonian bear, who visibly seems reluctant to crawl out of their cave into daylight.
I have been in a slow, slumber state since the holidays. Outside of the Gregorian system the dominant world expects of us, winter is meant for us to slow down, sleep more, and do less in order to regenerate. And yet we live in a world that tells us it’s a New Year, a “new you.” The algorithms have been feeding me all sorts of ways to work out 24/7 and telling me to become overly productive, but all I want to do is go back into the cave until spring wakes me up again.
Before the holiday season, I wrote about the gift economy and the loneliness that can emerge from participating in the capitalist approach to gift giving. But the actual gift economy lives outside of capitalism, a system of exchange where valuables are not sold, but given without an explicit agreement for immediate or future rewards.
So in the spirit of doing less and restoring yourself until springtime, here’s two books to entice you to turn towards the gift economy: Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World and Sacred Economics: Money, Gift & Society in the Age of Transition. And if you don’t feel like reading right now but would rather explore platforms like Engather, which is actively reweaving social fabric through human connection and exchange, it’s there for you.
OK now go act like a bear market (jk) in an actual bull market and take a nap while you can.
Oh hey! You’re still reading this? If you have future topics, smart humans, or concepts you’d like to see featured, respond to this newsletter or drop me a line and say hey: Helen@HelenHollyman.com.
And if you liked this post from The Link, I dare you to share it!