I’ve been keeping a fascinated eye on the emerging changes in our global monetary system and when I hear that phrase, ‘economic crisis’, I picture this….
Meet Economy. He’s the star of his time. He appears to be thriving to the outside world – growing ever more successful, beaming ever more brightly. Yet, if we look carefully, behind him there trails a foul smell and a dark shadow. Still he keeps going, until something inside starts malfunctioning. Something starts hurting. Reluctantly, he goes to the doctor who tells him that the years of self-deception and neglect have taken their toll and his health is in crisis. It is, in fact, life-threatening.
What does Economy do? If he has any sense, he stops, sits down, and looks with great honesty at his lifestyle. He uses this crisis as a chance to assess what’s working and what’s not and to give himself a fresh start, built on different foundations.
If WE look with honesty, we can see that our economic system hasn’t been working. It’s been eating up resources and changing our climate. Money, which was created as a means by which we could fairly share our skills and produce, is now often used as an excuse to do the opposite. Our perpetual-growth model makes little sense when we live on a planet of finite natural resources.
So, Economy has been none-too-healthy and needs to make some deep, far-reaching changes – and how about us?
Well, we’ve been seduced. Our economic set-up has tempted us away from our passion. We’ve made Faustian bargains, having been promised: “Do this job that’s mindless, boring, stressful and pointless… and I’ll give you security now and forever more”. We work and work, waiting for pay-day or pension-day or holidays, believing in that bargain. Yet once we start to catch a glimmer of the possibility that we’ve been selling our soul to an entity which can’t be trusted, what happens to that faith?
I know that people hire me as their coach because they’re seeking faith in something new. They’re fed up with wasting their lives and getting nothing reliable in return. They want to turn their inspirational ideas into reality and all the messages which say they should plod on and consume and earn their 9-5 wage to keep the cogs a-turning just aren’t believable any more.
Maybe as the system falls, we’ll all make new deals. Maybe we’ll make deals with our planet, which really would always be there for us if we cared for, respected and attended to it. Maybe we’ll make deals with ourselves, with our health, with others, and with those we love the most. Maybe we’ll really hear that the world needs our passion, and needs it now.
The World Needs Your Passion, So…
This week, make a list of the deals you’ve made in relation to the economic set-up. What have you sold your soul for? What have you received, or what are you hoping to receive – as compensation? What’s the deal with your bank? – what specifically do they do with the money you deposit with them for safe-keeping? If you don’t know, ask them. What’s the deal with your employer, your customers, your colleagues? Now, decide what deals you want to make. What do you want money to be for? What do you want to work for? What do you want to invest your time and energy in? What do you want to receive in return?
Finally, let us know of any inspirational finance systems you’ve come across. I’ve been a long-term investor with Triodos Bank who continue to give me hope in a resilient, sustainable banking model. I also enjoy using my local LETS scheme. I invite you to share your favourites with us here.
© Corrina Gordon-Barnes, 2008