William Shakespeare did us a vast disservice in his oft quoted line. 

From Shakespeare’s Hamlet, 1603:

LORD POLONIUS: Neither a borrower nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.  

To embed in our culture that it is somehow an evil to borrow and lend things leads to the notion that everyone must have one of everything.  This is neither feasible nor desireable.  We must learn to get along with less if we are to survive.  To that extent, the ability to share is a survival skill.

So don’t feel qualms about asking to borrow something that you need.  Merely be responsible about caring for the item, and returning it in good shape and in a timely manner.

And don’t hesitate to lend things to those that need them.  Be clear with yourself and the borrower about your expectations and any constraints.  Lend cheerfully, without attachment if possible, for indeed the lent item may not come back in its initial condition, and perhaps not at all.

In borrowing and lending there are many personal and interpersonal lessons to be learned, there are many material attachments to be examined and adjusted, and there is a deepening of one’s inter-relatedness to relatives, friends, neighbors and acquaintances to be gained.

Humanity is one entity.  We are all in this together.  We all live in the same home, the planet earth.  And we must share it with a host of other species, all desirous of the same things… the ability to live in peace, relative comfort, security and happiness, to have enough to eat and shelter from the elements, to attain wisdom and to promote the security of future generations of life on earth.