How giving away fruit made me a better person

Giving is often more rewarding than receiving!

Untitled - Everhart Kuhn, n.d.

Want better relationships in your personal and professional life? Start showing up at your friends’ house with bags of produce. 

Growing up, my mom was pretty insistent about a few things, one of which was the idea that we should never show up anywhere empty-handed. I found this pretty strange, not because I didn’t get the utility of giving gifts, but because we never came with anything spectacular. We would roll up to my aunts’ and uncles’ houses with candles, bottles of water, soap, and frequently, given my mom’s proclivity to stock our fridge with a surplus of fruits and vegetables, bags of apples, oranges, watermelons, or pears. Despite the odd nature of the gifts we took to the homes of our loved ones, we were always met with smiles of surprise and bewilderment. 

I now understand that my mom wasn’t concerned with trying to knock the socks off of those we visited. On the rare occasion that we forgot a gift, she would leave a kind word, a prayer, or some life advice. The core principle that my mom was trying to instill in us was to leave places better than we found them. 

We are taught to consume from a young age

We teach kids to live in anticipation of receiving. Questions like “What would you do if you had all the money in the world?” and “How many gifts did you get for Christmas this year?” are common to ask of children, but that ethos becomes part of the lens through which we see the world: what things am I owed? Learning to move through the world wondering what you can create or who you can help is much more sustainable and gratifying. 

Only he who sows a seed can reap a harvest

Despite the fact that consuming is compelling in the short term, prosperity can only be gained through the continual giving of time, energy, and resources. It is often that those to whom we give do not directly grant us rewards, but continue to do good regardless; Gaining the reputation of generosity will serve you much longer than giving with the expectation of payment. 

Leave places better than you found them

What gift can you leave people with? What inspiration can you deposit? Readily consider ways that you can leave the places that you go better than when you came, and, in time, you will lack for nothing.