Ayni

I helped harvest maize today, although I hadn't planned to. I was walking past the fields when I saw nearly everyone working. An older woman waved me over, handed me a basket, and apparently that was enough to make me part of the harvest.

I assumed they were all working one family's field. Then someone explained that several of the people beside me had fields of their own. Some had received help earlier in the season. Others would need help later. I tried to understand who owed whom and how anyone kept track of it. The woman laughed at my questions and continued working.

Later, food was brought out and shared among everyone. I watched two people exchange goods across a woven cloth. Nothing about the exchange looked like charity. No one stood above anyone else. Someone gave because someone had given before, or because one day they would. The relationship stretched beyond what I could see happening today.

It made me think about how often I measure fairness in a single moment. I gave this, so you should give me that. I did this much, so you owe me exactly this much.

What I saw today had a longer memory.

Tonight I keep thinking about all the things I have received that I could never repay to the exact person who gave them to me. Someone taught me. Someone helped me. Someone built the road beneath my feet. Someone grew the food I ate tonight.

Perhaps the question isn't always what I am owed. Sometimes the question is what has been given to me, and what I will do in return.