SIXTY YEARS

Last Friday I turned sixty. To celebrate I decided to have an un-birthday party. No gifts would be allowed, except food to share, but all who came would be expected to take something away. It was a great way to help dispossess myself of so many of my possessions before I leave next week for Honduras.


A few folks found it very strange - especially as I was giving away some icons, art pieces, textiles, some books and music cds. But for me it was a great way to share what I have accumulated that has some value with folks I know.

Well, at least sixty people showed up! and lots of stuff was shared.

One student who heard of the idea said that this was like a hobbit party, where all the guests get a gift. I haven't read the Tolkien works, but if that is the case, I am glad to continue the tradition.

As I tried to explain this to one graduate student later that night, I remembered something about potlatches that I learned in a Cultural Anthropology. Among some northwestern native peoples, great feasts were held in which the host would give away what he had accumulated through the years. Though the giving of gifts was meant to establish one's status in society, what had been accumulated was shared. For me, giving away was one way to share all the gifts I had accumulated to others - hoping that they will remember me in prayer. It also was a way to atone for all my overconsumption.

It was a very good experience - for which I am grateful.