Ayni -- The Spirit of Reciprocity

If you were to look up the word "Ayni" on Wikipedia, you'd get a short couple of sentences that more or less describe the idea of utilitarianism. The notion of communities looking out for one another in a basic way in order to ensure security for all shouldn't be that strange to anyone, despite the fact that many of our communities do no such thing.

The word itself comes from the indigenous people of the Andes' in South America. I certainly do not claim to be an expert anthropologist, but I am sure that the people that endeavor to honor the idea of Ayni consider it to be more meaningful than the implied definition of primitive tribal utilitarianism. What does it mean to them? As I understand it, Ayni is the idea of creating a "right relationship" between the people and nature. Nature is a broad term, yes, but for the individual, creating Ayni is simply the practice of sharing one's gifts. 

Ayni can be sought with all aspects of life. As simple as "give freely" sounds, many of us are thoroughly conditioned to do the opposite. Living in a sustainable way is creating the right relationship between yourself and nature. Giving compassion, love, and aid to anyone who crosses your path is creating the right relationship between yourself and other people. Remembering to be thankful for the blessings of your existence helps create the right relationship between yourself and the universe. From the smallest relations to the largest, every interaction we have with the world can be either harmonious or not.

The importance of this idea escapes many. Yes, it's true that from a strictly logical standpoint, the utilitarian concept of sharing everything creates security. Most people have more than they need of something and less than they need of something else. Isn't this imbalance at the heart of nearly all socially detrimental decisions?

In a broader sense, the universe can and should be seen as whole--one big system--and systems operate on feedback. Just as your thoughts can change the way reality seems, your actions can affect the way reality, well, acts. When you invest good energy into your surroundings, good energy comes back your way, and the opposite is true as well. 

There are real world examples of this concept everywhere you look. Any community where friendship and people are valued over money or personal gain is going to be healthier--and there extreme examples like the Burning Man festival where huge numbers of virtual strangers create a temporary but powerful community around sharing the gifts each individual brought (money is not allowed as currency except to purchase consumable items: toilet paper, coffee, ice). When money is eliminated from our relationships, the true value of resources, time, skills and one's art are no longer distorted by the elaborate game of monopoly that our fiat currency system is built upon. Smaller festivals, like the local Roots and Bliss gathering (https://www.facebook.com/events/498189540257596/) achieve the same kind of energetic cooporation on a smaller scale. 

I don't really know enough about Ayni or the people who practice it to say that arts festivals are in the same spirit, but I like to think they are. When enough people get together who are out to help each other first, everyone gets helped multiple times instead of only having themselves to rely on. And when you put that together with a respect and reverence for nature and a diligent ethic to be responsible for your impact, the universe will be a more harmonious place.