No Credit

“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” -Harry S. Truman

“For there to be a gift, there must be no reciprocity, return, exchange, countergift, or debt…For there to be a gift, it is necessary that the donee not give back, amortize, reimburse…” -Jacques Derrida

“When you’ve done well and another has benefited by it, why like a fool do you look for a third thing on top—credit for the good deed or a favor in return?” -Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

To you who hear I say,
love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
To the person who strikes you on one cheek,
offer the other one as well,
and from the person who takes your cloak,
do not withhold even your tunic.
Give to everyone who asks of you,
and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
For if you love those who love you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners love those who love them.
And if you do good to those who do good to you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners do the same.
If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners lend to sinners,
and get back the same amount.
But rather, love your enemies and do good to them,
and lend expecting nothing back; -Luke 6: 27-35

The Master can keep giving
because there is no end to her wealth.
She acts without expectation,
succeeds without taking credit,
and doesn’t think that she is better
than anyone else. –Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu (Stephen Mitchell adaptation)

“The answer to the question ‘Why did you do the right thing? should always be ‘Because it was the right thing to do.’ After all, when you hear or see another person do that—especially when they might have endured some hardship or difficulty as a consequence for doing that right thing—do you not think, There, that is a human being at their finest? So why on earth do you need thanks or recognition for having done the right thing? It’s your job.” -Ryan Holiday

“Even
After
All this time
The Sun never says to the Earth,

“You owe me.”

Look
What happens
With a love like that,
It lights the whole sky.” -poem by Hafiz

No credit? No problem. Do it anyway.

For no other reason than you want to. That it’s the right thing to do. Do it out of pure love.

Transform. Not transact.