Turn Your Dollars Into Sense.....

This concept has been on my mind for a long time now.  As a mix of all the things I've been a part of in my past that 'worked', and what I know from my experiences, I just reckon that this could at least be a beginning of a way to walk into our futures.  I wrote this flyer up, that I'm going to photocopy and leave around our community, to see what we can get together here.  So I thought I'd share it with you mob too, just in case it catches anyones attention. And I made a vlog about it also, that I've popped in at the end.  

I'd love some feedback on this idea, what you think works and may not about it, and any questions that may be had about the whole thing.......

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It seems this great and terrible time we’re occupying is all about making a choice.  Between whether we’re happy for things to go along on their usual cycle of swinging between one political extreme and another, while we’re all busy trying to forget the damages we’re creating with our lifestyles, or if we want things to evolve and change.  Accepting ourselves and our shadows and everything we touch and translate as a reflection of the macrocosm in the microcosm, or continuing to externalize our pain and our fear on ‘them’, and keep a culture of warfare thriving. 

Rather than imprison our energy and creativity in an eternal tug of war with all the things that ‘aren’t right’, we could instead use our precious energies to create a viable, sustainable, and alternative pattern of social interaction and trade.

As we collectively stand looking at issues of environmental destruction, tyranny, social injustice, poverty, corporate dictatorship, sexual violence, and the list goes on and on as we all know……..it’s easy to feel impotent, overwhelmed, and unimportant in the face of a monstrous wave that could swallow all life as we know it.

But it’s far more fun to instead turn your gaze towards creative endeavours that help us to connect with each other in our commonalities, can unify a group of people towards a way of living that is joyfully sustainable, and can potentially create  the change we’re hungering for.

To become the one’s we’ve been waiting for, and aid our species evolution.

And to be totally pragmatic about it, the greatest power we have in this world, beyond forming tribe and community and being ourselves, is our dollars.  I think we’re all aware of the double bind of knowing that corporations are running the world in an unhealthy way, yet still buying goods off them.

Solution.  How about we turn our dollars into sense?

By creating local webworks and networks of artisans, producers, inventers, farmers, and other skilled people, to fill all the places in our lives that corporations normally do.  And removing our focus and support from entities that are harming our planet, to instead place that focus on creating a harmonious, respectfull, and fair way of living.  Creating an alternative path while we’re showing corporations how to act with more compassion.  And educating them about what they need to do in order to win our dollars back.  And by giving our precious energy to being part of creative transformation, instead of tired old arguments.

The market that Currawong and I started in Macclesfield, South Australia, was such an exemplary example of a local government term ‘community capacity building’, that we had a tour of council workers from around the country come to visit and talk with us.  Community Capacity Building is essentially recognizing that many hierarchical structures are by their nature disempowering, whereas operating on the management structure of a wheel – wherein every spoke is equally essential and important to the whole – is an awesome way of letting community create itself, by engendering an atmosphere of respect, equality and acceptance.  When individuals are supported in who they are and their ‘thing’, with a focus on networks and interdependence, then a wholistic and sustainable community is formed on a strong foundation, because it’s merely supporting interests that are already there, rather than trying to instruct and enforce them.  This concept has been one of the most profoundly transformational ways I’ve ever been a part of, and far more naturally forming and easy to play with than a dogmatic heirarchical or spiritual structure.  Operating on a natural impulse to connect and live fulfilling lives.

Imagine if………

There was an alchemical marriage between L.E.T.S, Community Supported Agriculture, a Growers Market, the Peace Movement, Love, Environmental Activism, Anthropology, Chaos Theory, a Gifting Economy, and Honesty.  And it resulted in a newsletter/registry of skills, produce, and interests, and a regular meetup within a community.  And through the growth of that network, you could buy, trade or swap your bread, milk, butter, veggies, fruit, herbs, poultry, meat, clothes, gifts, furniture, and many other things. Build your house, fix your plumbing, help grow your garden, mow your lawn, and get advice on your composting toilet. Not to mention, access mind libraries of knowledge on alternative methods of creating power, refridgeration, ways to catch water, irrigation, gardening, animal husbandry and maybe even work towards creating a physical library.    Enjoy workshops and lessons from your talented community members, and attend poetry readings, plays, musicals, dance parties and exhibitions, as part of everyday life. Accessing alternative media and entertainment on the internet due to suggestions within the network, and creating all sorts of events, sports and games through spontaneous interest.  Maybe even community insurance and a bank.  The future is our community!!

And imagine if……….

The concept took off like a love virus, and infected the world with community cohesion, so that all the people wishing for change could turn their dollars into sense in a similar way, in any town, city or village, that then went on to network with each other.  And with our collective energy we created the solution to our worlds problems, by becoming old fashioned agrarian  communities in a new way, and just disengaging with the corporations and beauraucracies, until they behave better….while smiling lots.  Creating the antidote to the cancer of western civilisation, whilst also creating community, and boycotting what we know is killing us, without having to deprive ourselves. 

I think the whole idea is at least worth a try......