Worth here is not the same as value – it comes from the sense of being worthy.  We tend to use it to mean value – “What’s this worth?” – but, really, it expresses pricelessness – literally, this can’t be priced.

I’m writing this on a four year old macbook.  How much would I ask for it? I’m not sure, but not the same as for a new one.  That’s the thing about value, it allows me to compare this with that.

But a gift is incomparable.

To become comparable it crosses a threshold, usually from within a group to without:

Lewis Hyde suggests something else happens when a gift becomes a commodity: I have to detach myself from it if is to become a commodity with a price tag: “It’s nothing personal.”

Pride commoditises people: I see myself in comparison with others and I’m establishing boundaries.  Humility allows me to see my worth without comparison, refusing boundaries.  Greed then follows pride because I need to gather and store more on my side of the boundary, but gratitude sees abundance as something we share.

‘What happens when you’re afraid to stand out is that you unconsciously make sure you blend in.’*

This last thought may appear contradictory but the one who stands out is the one who doesn’t posture and position, who brings their gift or superpower to the game or party for the good of all and not for the good of the few.

This is really about you.  A person, not a commodity.  Worthy and without a price tag.  With a unique boon, necessary and transformative for our time.

(*From Bernadette Jiwa’s Make Your Idea Matter.)