Ever since human beings first walked the earth, sharing has been a part of life as we know it. For cavemen, sharing was used to both promote friendship and also occasionally to promote survival of the group.

Back when food was scarce and involved a large expenditure of energy to acquire, such that should one tribe member have a large amount of food, he could be expected as a member of the tribe, to share this food with the other members. In this way he would be preventing that tribe from potentially dying of starvation.

Sharing was also used as a way to secure a mate, by sharing his or her food with another, singular tribe member, that same tribe member would feel indebted towards the provider while also seeing him as powerful; not only did he hold the food, he also had the will to share it.

Nowadays, in developed countries, food is no longer an issue and even though sharing it does not usually play such a part in securing a partner, sharing and what it signifies is no less important. From an early age, children are taught and encouraged to share between one another and a greedy child is often left alone by the other children. It has been statistically proven that children who are kinder, and share more with the other children develop a much more beneficial social life than those that do not.

In the workplace, sharing is also important. Many businesses find that the sharing of tasks and challenges increases the overall productivity of the business which in turn can generate more profit.

Humans share in lots of everyday situations beyond the workplace or school. Sharing creates a sense of unity and bonding between friends and family and sometimes complete strangers – many acts of kindness involve sharing of some kind. Sharing also creates mutual trust between people and it has been said for a long time that trust is the first building block of a friendship. For example, if someone was to ask you if they could borrow a small sum of money, if you accepted, you would be placing trust in them that they will eventually return it and that should you ever be in need, they would return the favor.

The emotional side of sharing is also very important. Sharing with others can make us feel happier, and indeed, it has been shown that those who share and are kinder to other human beings live happier and longer lives. This feeling of satisfaction is generally intensified depending on the number of people you are giving to or sharing with. The recipients of your gesture will feel gratitude and you will have a sense of mutual understanding. In an already existing friendship, one where unity has developed, sharing can be a means of reinforcing that unity ensuring that each person feel the same sense of gratitude and that the unconditional unity remains exactly that; unconditional.

Sharing is a valuable tool in creating and maintain friendship, trust and unity. It is worth remembering next time you don’t feel like sharing something, that sharing is powerful human experience and central to your well-being.