The Cost of Giving Until Empty: Why Abundance Must Begin at Home

Our True Colors
Sep 21
3 min read

The Folktale of the Empty Gourd

There is an old story told by the elders: a woman who owned the finest calabash in the village would pour and pour for everyone who came to her door — water for the traveler, broth for the hungry, oil for the barren lamps — until the gourd was empty. When at last she turned to pour for her own children, there was nothing left but dust. The children grew thin, the house weak, and soon even the woman had no strength to rise.

We are this woman. America is this house. Why is it still considered radical to care first for those who till the land, build the roads, write the code, and birth the generations that keep this nation running? Why do the most educated, the most networked, the most experienced among us continue to be simple-minded when it comes to creating thriving spaces for our own people? Perhaps the problem is not ignorance but a deeply-rooted scarcity model — one that sees progress as a ladder climbed alone rather than a table built together.

America’s Fame and Fortune —And Its Toll

The world sees America as a shining city on a hill — a place of endless possibility. Yet many who arrive here, and many born here, find themselves spiritually bankrupt, financially strapped, and physically exhausted.

The 9-5 work model, meant to sustain life, often feels like a well-managed prison sentence. Eight or more hours belong to someone else, leaving scraps of time for family, art, play, or simple rest. This constant state of depletion erodes mental health, stifles creativity, and robs the soul of joy. Emerging studies suggest that a 4-day workweek not only increases productivity but restores dignity and balance — proof that our systems were designed for output, not human thriving.

The Wealth Gap & Its Legacy

America’s great fortunes were built on the backs of unpaid labor: the cotton economy, the railroad tycoons, the banks that insured human bodies as property. Today, those fortunes still compound, while Black and Brown communities inherit the compounded debt — generational poverty, redlining, underfunded schools, anti-family propaganda, and mass incarceration.

Layered on top of this is workplace misogyny and cultural ignorance: microaggressions about hair and speech, pay inequity, and the unspoken expectation to assimilate.

How can one give their best to a place they secretly loathe? Studies show that diverse, respected teams outperform homogeneous ones — meaning equity is not charity, it’s a driver of innovation.

Healing from Within: Scarcity vs. Abundance

Scarcity keeps the bottom scrambling while the top multiplies wealth. But imagine a model of abundance: universal higher education, accessible healthcare, incentives for small business growth, and rehabilitative justice that restores people to society rather than discarding them.

Reparations are not a radical idea — they are the moral balancing of a centuries-old ledger. The economic value of enslaved labor cannot be understated. To calculate it would require research teams, archival data, genealogical tracing, and models accounting for lost innovation, broken family lines, and stolen land. What is owed is more than money — it is land, equity, education, healing.

Moving Toward an Abundant Future

Scarcity will eventually devour itself. A model of abundance — one that honors the labor, creativity, and cultural genius of those historically oppressed — could ignite exponential growth for everyone. Real transformation will come when power holders recognize that the very blessing they seek comes from the people they have exploited.

Remember the woman with the empty gourd? In the version we have not yet lived, she learns that the gourd was never meant to run dry — that if she first pours for her own house, plants seeds beside the well, and teaches the next generation to draw water, the gourd refills itself endlessly. In this retelling, her children grow strong, the village prospers, and there is enough for strangers who pass by.

This is what a model of abundance offers: a system where caring for one’s own home fuels the ability to care for others, where investment in Black creativity and equity multiplies prosperity, not just redistributes it.

The so-called “magic” of Black labor and ingenuity has always been the source of America’s wealth; imagine the world we could build if that magic were honored, restored, and multiplied — for the benefit of all.

ABOUT OUR TRUE COLORS

Our True Colors explores culture, equity, and the lived experiences of Black and Brown communities through storytelling, research, and social experiments. We write to challenge narratives, spark dialogue, and inspire action.

Learn about our segments at www.lifefromadarkerlens.com