ecoTrain Question Of The Week: “What is the greatest gift you have ever given or could give” by eco-alex

This is one of those questions that on the surface seems an easy one to answer.. Then when I start thinking about it, I have to ask myself what is it that makes a gift great, or one better than the other. It's fair to say that I have given quite a few gifts to people and groups over the years, and so how can I decide which one is the greatest?

There was wise old saint who asked this very question. His name was Maimonides, a 12th century Jewish scholar. Maimonides pondered the whole idea of how best to give, and what makes something a 'better' gift. Right here I'd also like to mention that when I say better, we don't mean that the others are bad and this isn't about judgment. Rather, it is about how we can best do good in the wold to help make it a better place.

Maimonides invented the following ladder of giving. Each rung up represents a higher degree of virtue:

8. When donations are given grudgingly.

7. When one gives less than he should, but does so cheerfully.

6. When one gives directly to the poor upon being asked.

5. When one gives directly to the poor without being asked.

4. Donations when the recipient is aware of the donor's identity, but the donor still doesn't know the specific identity of the recipient.

3. Donations when the donor is aware to whom the charity is being given, but the recipient is unaware of the source.

2. Giving assistance in such a way that the giver and recipient are unknown to each other. Communal funds, administered by responsible people are also in this category.

1. The highest form of charity is to help sustain a person before they become impoverished by offering a substantial gift in a dignified manner, or by extending a suitable loan, or by helping them find employment or establish themselves in business so as to make it unnecessary for them to become dependent on others.

What Maimonides did here was to value how we give according to its altruistic nature. The nature in which we give is as important as what and how we give.
With that said, let's hop straight to number 8, the highest valued way to give.

The highest form of charity is to help sustain a person before they become impoverished by offering a substantial gift in a dignified manner, or by extending a suitable loan, or by helping them find employment or establish themselves in business so as to make it unnecessary for them to become dependent on others.

The essence of this highest form of giving is this. The best thing we can do for someone is to make them self sufficient. When we do this, it becomes the gift that keeps on giving. It means that no one has to keep supporting the receiver, and they may flourish and provide real security.

I agree with this wholeheartedly! This really helps me to decide which example I would like to share with you on the Question of the Week! I was going to share an occasion of when I had bought someone who was REALLY struggling financially a new laptop. He had to support three children and was doing everything he could to save them all. His whole main problem seemed to be his laptop was totally useless and stopped him from doing anything productive. I respected him enough to take a couple of thousand dollars and just buy him and new laptop. I'm sure that was a gift that kept on giving. In a way it did help him to become self sufficient and so I think this example is a very good one when ranked against Maimonides's ladder.

Now, is real self sufficiency having a job and employment? Well to some extent i think it is, but we can do better! In fact, real self sufficiency is something i have been involved with for 15 years or more. As many of you will know, I am passionate about Earthship Biotecture and the whole concept of self sufficient building and living. What I discovered is that by being self sufficient for all your basic living needs, you can be independent from State, and less vulnerable to many variables such as price increases on power, water, gas etc. If you are living in a totally self sufficient house, you are far less dependent on money! When you have no bills for all your amenities and even food growing in and around your house, you become empowered and secure.

This is what I have been doing, in MANY ways since around 2001.I have written quite a lot about it already on Steemit with my Remarkable Diary Story. This story is in fact a diary of not just my own build, but as you will come to see, how i have helped hundreds or even thousands of people start to consider this way of living and start doing something about it. I have supported people directly, face to face, by teaching them how to build a self sufficient house. I have held workshops just for this and even spent 1000's of dollars to subsidize them and organize it all single handedly. I have traveled around India to give talks, and done my best to explain and inspire people who are looking for a way to improve their lives. I have even put myself through real hardship by leading a volunteer build for an Earthship based Ashram in Rishikesh. We had around 50 volunteers, about two weeks of time, and a lot of good energy! I had to work as hard as I ever had, in the dust and scorching heat and we didn't even have water!

It's fair to say I have dedicated my life to this cause. I feel it is that important and can't help but support others who want to do the same thing. One day I dream of making a whole small community of Earthships for people who want to live in a much more natural and healthy way. That, for me, would be the greatest gift I could give people. Not just security, and self sufficiency, but also a family.

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