Radical Sharing and Mutality

When I lived on the block as a Jesuit Volunteer, Scott, a Catholic Worker at the time, told me that by living in community, we are living at odds with an individualistic, extractive, and capitalistic society. In such a society, each nuclear household needs one of everything – a car, a lawnmower, a shovel, etc. In community, we reject this dominant paradigm by sharing our resources.

I’ve been living in the White House (the one here in Tacoma) for two years now, and the practice of sharing is an important part of my routines and relationships. Maggie and Liz cook me delicious meals. Nora and Nick let me borrow their air compressor. Melissa and Reece teach me how to change my tire. I help myself to shovels at Guadalupe House and blackberries in the garden. And I share my gifts as well: a mind that understands information systems; a body that can haul around dirt, weed gardens, and paint walls; a heart that wants to love and be loved.

Living together in a reciprocal way means using our strengths to support others where they are not so strong; it also means allowing others to use their strengths where we are not so strong. Keeping a tidy yard is … not my strong suit. At times, this fact has been painfully obvious; yet I’ve never experienced shame from my neighbors, only support as they rally in my yard to shovel dirt, pull weeds, and build fences together. Many hands make light work – “light” meaning not only “easier” but “joyful.”

The Catholic Worker is a unique and conducive place to be able to practice radical sharing and mutuality. But I don’t believe these practices have to be confined to this place; in fact, I’ve experienced them in other contexts, in my relationships with other dear friends. I’m moving away from the block in late summer, giving me the opportunity to wonder how I might nourish such practices in my future seasons of life.

-Mary Connolly, community member