In Praise of Indebtedness
It all started with tomatoes.
After we moved, a new neighbor invited us to pick from the abundance in her and her husband’s gardens. In return for a pile of tomatoes gathered from their raised beds, I left a plastic bag of homegrown pumpkins on their porch. Later that summer, our neighbor stopped by with a recycled container full of still more fruits. By the fall, we were sharing chili and cookies over dinner at our place.
Threads of indebtedness were weaving us together.
For most of my life, the idea of indebtedness has tasted rather repulsive on my tongue. The “debt” at the word’s center conjures images of late-night fights over maxed-out credit cards, harassing debt collectors, and strangling student loans. Our individualistic culture revolts against any kind of imprisoning indebtedness—not only to banks, but to ourselves. I am the kind of woman who will play email tennis all day, then make dinner, then put our son to bed (despite my kind husband’s gentle offerings to help) because I hate owing anyone anything. So when I read an article by a French mentor encouraging readers to pursue redevabilité, or indebtedness, I was curious.
What would it be like to cultivate a posture of dependence on others?
Read more at Her View from Home.
This series is inspired by my new book In Praise of Houseflies: Meditations on the Gifts in Everyday Quandaries (Calla Press) now available for purchase. Click here to join my e-letter for more quiet reflections, book updates, and a few of my favorite things!
