There is a saying that many of us have heard or read.  It is one that many a successful man has claimed as being one of the principles they practised which contributed to their success.  It is that "the more we give away, the more that comes back to us".

I have been struggling with that.  Not about the concept.  I find that one of the biggest joys in life is the ability to buy things for people.  To spend time looking for, thinking of, what someone might like to have.  And being able to get it for them.  I read it some old classic (forget which) that one of the greatest luxuries in life is the luxury of being able to buy presents for others.  That I have found to be deeply true.

My struggle is not with that.  It is that I don't feel I have much to give away these past few years.  And in not being able to give much to others, how can there ever be more that can come back to me?  And if that Catch-22 was not bad enough, what is worse is my inner realization that just me thinking and feeling that way is a Poverty Mentality - which means I will get more and more of this feeling of "poverty" which translates into a painful, degrading inner sense of failure, helplessness, and hopelessness.

Onto what may seem like a different topic ...

Today, in our internet-focused world, more and more people are sharing their ideas and their creations.  I have much dealing and interest in jewelry making and in that field, that is most definitely true.  I imagine that the same phenomenon is happening in almost every field of human endeavour. Which is all very good but also can be very daunting and discouraging.

I remember a time, before the internet, where if one was creative and arty, one had fewer people around who shared one's interest(s); that is true.  But it also meant that one was seen as more "gifted", more "talented", more "creative" than the people who were around us.

However today with the internet-given ability of being able to share so freely, so quickly,  and with so many, one feels like  - well, lost in the crowd.  One is no longer special, no longer so talented nor so creative.  Almost plain ordinary.  That is the downside of the internet I guess.

On the upside, there is the gleaning of information that would have been impossible before.  And this rapid spread of information (in terms of new ideas, techniques) also means that we are able to become more technically able than we would have been before the advent of the internet.  Which is great.

But till just this moment, I had not realized that the "giving out more so that more may come back to you" applied, in more ways than one, in this rapid information-sharing world.

For instance, I have seen many an artist get angry and indignant that their 'original' design had been 'stolen' by someone else.  The copyright issue is practically at the forefront of our minds these days in  almost everything we do, especially on the internet.  

I have no doubt that the angry artist is truly indignant over the perceived theft.  I have no doubt that the piece of creativity was their original idea.  But was it truly unique?  And was it truly theirs?  That, personally speaking (only), I am not so convinced of.  

The phenomenon of the 100th Monkey Syndrome coupled with the undisputed fact that new and original ideas have been known to occur almost simultaneously to two or more unrelated people in different parts of the world (even before the internet) - it is not only not inconceivable, but to my mind, quite probable that today with the mind-bogglingly rapid and wide spread of new ideas, that two or more people may come up with the same (or very similar) design/idea/technique on their own.  Theft may not play a part at all.

That is not to say that there are not those who actually do steal' (or copy) the works/designs/ideas of others without giving due credit to the source.  Of course there are those kinds of people.  

I know many (most?) artists and inventors are almost militantly assertive when it comes to copyright issues.  I think they have a right to feel that way.  I would not like to infringe any copyright issues.  The artists have a right to feel the way they do; I can respect that. I may not agree but I can respect that. And of course, there are legal deterrents for people who do violate copyright legalities.

However, for myself, I do not believe that copyrights, as they now stand, should be such a big deal.  (Yes, I can hear the crowd hissing).  I think much of the anger and aggression seen in this area is a fear-based thing.  And fear is a powerful emotion, especially when coupled with a person's making-money endeavours.

To me, I think that ideas come to us.  They come to us freely.  In fact, it feels as if they are given to us.  From outside of ourselves.² From God? From the Universe?  It seems to me then that if that is the case, then I personally have no ownership of an idea even when I think that idea was my own 'original' idea.  I think that is doubly true in today's environment.  Because I do believe that whatever "new" idea I might have, it is very likely that someone(s) somewhere else in the world, is also getting the same or very similar ideas.  All without "stealing" from me.

And to further support this idea, I know for a fact that it is no longer an uncommon phenomenon that what one thought of as one's "original" idea (because it was not gotten from someone else nor from the internet, book, TV, or other avenues of communication) is later found as having been already done by someone else.

So even though I am not heavily into copyright restrictions where my own art is concerned (even when I think a lot of my ideas are "original"), I must confess that there are areas where I am reluctant to share.  Like when I come across someone's great and novel idea, or someone's fantastic site.  Especially if sharing that new source of valuable information to others causes me to fear that someone else will benefit from it before I can and therefor will have the admiration/respect I think I should have gotten, then I am as tight-fisted as the next fearful person. 

Which now brings me back to the idea at the start of this article and my little personal epiphany on sharing.  I used to think that the principle of sharing (and having more come back to you) applied to material things and about money in particular.  But my personal lesson is that it is not (just that).  

One of the better ways of thinking about money is to realize that money, because it is a form of energy, is without limit.  That means that just because you have more does not mean that someone else will have less.  Or that there is only so much to go around therefore it is hard for you and I to have enough.  That is not the useful way to think about money if one wants to be abundant.

The same is true of information.  The more one shares, the more "new" information can come into the world.  And I think that is part of our evolution.  That is part of the reason why we are now living through a time where we have a tool like the internet which has speeded up 

the sharing and creation of ideas faster than we have ever seen in our history.  It is the harbinger of the huge shift in our evolution - globally and personally.  

So the more we share information, ideas, technique, the faster and Better we can evolve, grow, benefit, Live.  Don't you think?

^1. Addendum: 2 Oct 2011

Oh me, oh my, oh goody!!  I just discovered I am not alone (and which just goes to prove the truth of what I have said before) - there is such a concept as "Anti-Copyright" _{(information from Wikipedia)} and there are people and bodies and organizations who are fully or partially against copyright.  Hah!  I didn't seriously think that I could be the only one who thought this way but till today, I had not come across this idea from someone else nor even the term "anti-copyright".   

So though, to me, it was my "original" idea - it just goes to show, it was not unique nor, ipso facto, an idea that I had ownership to!!! :D

^2. Addendum: 2 Oct 2011 (much later in the day)

The Universe does conspire to come together to support us, even in our ideas.  I just came across by "coincidence" an article ("Becoming a Vessel of Divinie Inspiration") by Panache Desai.  In that article, Panache talks about his visiting an exhibition by the famous, late Alexander McQueen.  Panache says of McQueen:

and ..

Panache Desai and Alexander McQueen have expressed in much more elegant terms what I had attempted to say about inspiration and ideas coming from outside of ourselves, and coming to us freely, as if they sought only our permission to be the conduit to something much greater than ourselves.  So who are we to say we own them?