Jay Matthews

The example of how we already participate in the gift economy is given with the service berry:

Creativity can be observed only in the interrelations of a system made up of three main parts. The first of these is the domain, which consists of a set of symbolic rules and procedures. The second component of creativity is the field, which includes all the individuals who act as gatekeepers to the domain. It is their job to decide whether a new... See more

It was a cycle of numbers, push, numbers, not good enough, “coaching”, push, change, commission, percentages, tick back to zero, rinse, repeat. There was no space for the human. No space for deep thinkers, for empathy, for art, for creativity, i.e. the things that I considered important.

The problem here, Fromm emphasizes, is not whether or not the beliefs are correct—the problem is whether or not the beliefs are a result of one’s own thinking. It is certainly possible that someone, through their original reasoning, can arrive at the same beliefs as the person I described above. The difference is that they came to these beliefs... See more

The takeaway is that you can take it slow. Creating online, doing your own thing, and dabbling here and there might dramatically expand your possibilities in the future.

... just a reminder

Neutralizing each other’s complexity affords us a kind of manageable otherness. We narrow down our partner, ignoring or rejecting essential parts when they threaten the established order of our coupledom. We also reduce ourselves, jettisoning large chunks of our personalities in the name of love