“Doing good better” is quite a worthwhile pursuit! It may seem deceptively easy, because it IS “more blessed to give than to receive”. When one pulls that apart, though, we may see Why: the one who gives has abundance, and that’s generally an enviable position; the one on the receiving end will likely feel grateful… which may carry a hidden emotional burden. (An old Chinese saying about this subject says that there are 5 ways of expressing gratitude… and each implies resentment. It makes sense…)

To do good better means Listening… and seeing as best one can how things are, before making a contribution of some kind. I remember hearing a story by a friend of S’klallam elder Jewell James (his name was Kenny), who told a story of his village when he was young… how the hunters and gatherers brought their day’s efforts to a central fire, where the clan came around to prepare food together, and share stories of their day, and take care of the business at hand… and how the older people would tell stories after the meal, while the children listened… and how the surplus food collected was divided up and dealt with… and plans made for the following day, before the fire went out. When electricity was offered to the village, they were excited… and got busy planning their new future. What happened, though, was that, when families had refrigerators and stoves of their own, they quit the evening fire routine… and cooked for themselves, at home. They also got radios, that told stories without the ‘need’ (or benefit) of an elder to do so… and, while it did divert and amuse the young people, it had no cultural relevance. Without the evening fire the village was atomized, divided into family units that only came together on a few occasions… and their cultural cohesion was weakened. They didn’t have an opportunity to discuss their differences in the open, while it was fresh in people’s minds… and that nurtured bad feelings between individuals and families. The ‘gift’ of electric power actually began the disintegration of their way of living together. There was less need to share. Old values were abandoned. They learned autonomy, gave up community.

We all have something to share. If we have abundance, and wish to share it, perhaps we can learn to listen- and appreciate- the skills and knowledge of those we think might benefit from our abundance. Then, BOTH parties share Something… and the ‘resentment quotient’ is empty! ^..^