I popped it up on a blog, then Permaculture Magazine picked it up and published it back in July 08, and that led to a Canadian textbook buying reprint rights, as well as an extract being featured in Earth Pathways Diary 2010 and it being requested by an on-line magazine called Celsias.

So many people have said it has inspired them to find work that fulfils them, or it was the wake-up call they were waiting for. I write about finding and making our Contribution Footprint, our way of making a difference in the world.

Now a friend has suggested I enter the Oofoo Laureate competition – which I have! I haven’t read the other entries yet – my guess is there could be some other fantastic ones in there – so make yourself a cuppa, have a browse, get inspired – and perhaps even vote for mine? It’s called The World Needs Your Passion and you vote simply with a tick.

Happy reading!

The World Needs Your Passion, So…

I decided to make today’s blog super easy for me. I’ve recycled a note I wrote on Facebook and have done without a photo. I’m continually learning that there’s only so much I’m in charge of – I don’t have to make everything perfect, triple-checked, all-singing all-dancing for it have impact. Let me know the impact of this easy approach for you by posting a comment on this blog.

An inquiry for you: Where could you make life WAY easier for yourself today? And what will you do with all that extra time and energy?!

I was the columnist in The London Paper last week, suggesting that the recession is a good thing. Readers vote on whether they want more of you… and 96% did. I also had many comments calling this point of view “refreshing” and “inspiring”. In this, I hear a whispered hope for a move away from ‘business as usual’ to a more enjoyable and equitable way of running our economy.

At its best, this shake-up wake-up call will prompt us to re-prioritise and re-allocate resources. It will make us more aware of where we use money as an excuse to see ourselves as separate from others. Instead of this isolation, we will find ways of leaning in to human energy as our most precious resource and recognise our interdependence.

A great example of this is liftshare – an organisation that works to bring about sustainable change by encouraging individuals to do things together. There are now 290,000+ people registered and several inspirational stories have emerged.

Sandra from Clacton-on-Sea started car-sharing as a way of saving petrol and impact on the environment and found that “two people who led separate lives have now become great friends, with all the benefits and opportunities that new friendships offer”. They socialise regularly, found they had tons in common, and get to chat, laugh and sing along to 60s and 70s music on the way to and from work.

Similarly with Emma from Swindon, her initial motivations were financial and environmental and says “I have benefited in ways I never imagined, including socially. The company is great, we share ideas, and we exchange knowledge about the local area – where the best markets are, what’s on at the theatre. As I know we have to rely on each other at a particular time of day, I’m much more efficient at work. I can no longer stay late to get things finished so I don’t faff about any more, I just get it done.

And there are wider community benefits, as Clare from Herefordshire describes: “We also pick up and drop off a regular prescription for a friend who has retired and finds it difficult to get to the doctors”.

With liftshare, we see the Triple Bottom Line of a solid, sustainable venture – intending to bring about economic, environmental and societal/inter-personal benefits through its activities. As we tighten our belts and make changes economically, perhaps we’ll also tighten our belts as a community, finding afresh how fulfilling it is to need each other.

The World Needs Your Passion, So…

1) If you had 50% of your current income, what would you do differently? Make a list. Then assess: in what ways would any of this be preferable? What could you gain as side-effects of these changes? Plato said “Necessity is the mother of invention”. In which ways would your decreased income increase your creativity and innovation?

2) Now return to your current level of income – but keep those new ways in place. What would you do with all that extra money?? Which deeply fulfilling lifestyle benefits would all that abundance bring you?

© Corrina Gordon-Barnes, 2008

* Why The Recession Is A Good Thing *

Read the article here.