By gifts one makes slaves and by whips one makes dogs

Said by an Intuit hunter in response to being thanked for giving meat to a friend.

"Rather than seeing himself as human because he could make economic calculations, the hunter insisted that being truly hu­man meant refusing to make such calculations, refusing to measure or remember who had given what to whom..."

I am reminded of a blog post by a friend which talks about the different levels of giving.  Imagine ordering a coffee at your favorite coffee shop.  And when the barista turns away and no-one is looking you stuff $10 in the tip jar and walk away.  Thats the ultimate giving, anonymous, and you don't need to tell your friends how big of a tip you left.  At the other end of the spectrum is giving out of obligation like taxes and doing the dishes as Ronen writes.

How do we do business?  How do we conduct our personal relationships? How do we earn our money?  How do we give?

If it feels like a string of IOU's, think for a minute about all these questions from the perspective of an Inuit hunter or a level 4 giver....might we feel more human? might we be more prosperous?

Does the feeling of IOU or UOM hold us back from a more fluid business mission and life experience?