Day 8 - The One Where I Ponder Charity

Made a delicious Blackberry Crumble for breakfast.  I hypothesized that cooking the berries might burn off any of the toxins.  So far, this is true.  (Blackberry Crumble Recipe)

Blackberry Crumble

I have been eating popcorn for dinner every night and I still love it!

I have been thinking about charity.  After the apocalypse would there be some people better off than others? or would the apocalypse annihilate class distinction, placing everyone as equally starving and in need of resources?  Supposing that there are haves and have-nots, would the haves donate to the have-nots?

I have been wondering if I have created the bartering rule because I am uncomfortable accepting items without being able to reciprocate.  Or is this rule necessary to maintain the artificial post-apocalypse world I am trying to create?  These questions are not rhetorical; I honestly don't know. 

If I were to accept charity, I feel like it might be too easy in a gathering sense, but difficult for my ego to digest.  For many monks, every meal is a charitable donation.  This is a very humbling experience and one that we probably don't experience too often in North America.  Giving is an important practice because the person giving experiences a feeling of sharing and helping and lets go of what was given.  The person receiving accepts the gift graciously and feels gratitude towards the giver rather than indebted.  This is a clean model of giving and receiving. 

I might be somewhat conditioned to believe that every time you receive, you are expected to give a thing back because the giver is now at a loss.  The adage, "nothing is free" rings loud and clear in my mind.  In the model of abundance, however, accepting items does not mean there is less for that person because...(say it with me) --> THERE IS ENOUGH FOR EVERYONE!