"Surrender" by Elizabeth Rodriguez 

"As we've seen, if there is no gift, there is no art. When art is created solely to be sold, it's only a commodity. A key element for the artist is the act of giving the art to someone in the tribe. (To be clear, an object or a canvas or a deliverable is not necessary for it to be art. Seeing the thing, hearing the thing, understanding the thing–that's enough for it to be art.)

If I give you a piece of art, then you can't and shouldn't' be busy assigning a monetary value to it. To do so is to take away its magic. If flight attendants charged extra for smiles, or helping you with a bag or entertaining your kid, that wouldn't be a gift and it wouldn't be art. It would be emotional labor for hire.

If I give you a piece of art, you shouldn't be required to work hard to reciprocate, because reciprocation is an act of keeping score, which involves monetizing the art, not appreciating it."

–Excerpt from "Linchpin: Are you indispensable?" by Seth Godin
–Drawing by: Elizabeth Rodriguez