Sharing is Caring

Although we already share a room or even a bed with other people here at the Arts Factory, we seem to share just about everything else.  Yesterday I was hanging out with David and his room/bed mate, Louise, all day.  We went shopping and just hung out in town nearly all day.  While we were grocery shopping, we decided we were just going to share some of the things between us instead of each buying a bag of it.  When we finished, we sat down at a table in front of Legend Pizza, shared a cigarette, and demolished a bag of potato chips and Aioli.

When we came back to the AFL, we each contributed some minced beef, noodles, and tomato sauce so that we could make a giant pan of spaghetti.  Our friend Tyse came and talked to us, so we shared with him as well.  Everyone was very well-fed by the time dinner was over.

David and Louise

Then Louise brought out the chocolate chip cookies.  None of us had much room left in our stomachs, but we each took a cookie (or two) and continued talking.  Eventually we made our way downstairs and continued sharing stories between us.

The whole point of this post is that living in a community like the one at the AFL is somewhat socialistic.  I don't want to get crazy political, but the system we have here just works.  Everyone contributes and everyone shares.  Someone might make you dinner one night, so you offer to make them dinner the following night.  It's just like an unspoken agreement, even though once you give, you don't really expect to receive anything back.  You do it purely because you enjoy giving; you enjoy helping out others.

I think this works so well because no one here has a lot of money.  Sometimes you're up, and sometimes you're down, but nearly everyone has been in your place before.  I've realised that you need to take care of the people in your life above all else.  In time, money spends, possessions lose their value and grandeur, but loyalty can be infinite.  When you have no material possessions, you can still be the most fortunate person in the world.