Welcome to the Gathering Pod, the audio version of my weekly gathering room broadcast. I'm Martha Beck.

And today's topic is the problem with overgiving. And in general in the world, many, many stories are

directed at the problem of not giving enough.

So, for example, you have like a Christmas Carol, a good Dickensian story about a rich man who thought that the poor should just die and decrease the surplus population, end quote.

And a lot of people are like that. Selfish, hoarding, mean, stingy.

The thing is, I don't think anybody like that comes here.

Just like there's no barrier except I just don't think the vibe would work for people like that. I think I have a hunch

that most of you out there listening to this right now are more prone to overgiving than undergiving.

But because there's so much of a push towards selflessness that comes as a natural

resistance to self-ishness we don't really learn the lessons of not over-giving

we're not told be careful how you give because it can go too far just reminded me

of something I heard about chimpanzees they have different sounds for different

foods they eat and after a chimpanzees. They have different sounds for different foods they eat.

And after a chimpanzee has eaten, I probably say this every week, it's so fascinating to me.

By the way, look up a hairless chimpanzee, terrifying. Anyway, chimpanzee is munching away on some grapes.

Well, after the chimp has had a certain number of grapes, involuntarily, that chimpanzee will

start shouting the troop word for grape, whatever it is. I don't know. I don't know their word for

grape, but the other chimps do, and then they come looking for grapes. So biologically, that

chimpanzee is programmed to take a few grapes for himself and then

to start involuntarily inviting others to come have some grapes.

So it makes good evolutionary sense, right?

Once that chimps has had enough for himself, the genetics of the tribe, the troop are going to survive longer if he gives

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