The New Economy is Emerging

The current situation in our world is asking us to think of and care for each other.  These requests are being made by governments and health officials in virtually every country in the world.  In the March 22nd reflection from St. Alban's it was said - our leaders need to realize not that the world is changing - but that the world has changed!  

From most leaders we are hearing the "words" that indicate that they have heard this and that they will do business in a new way.  However, in both Canada and the US after saying they will work together to support the citizens the agreements fall apart before any service is given to the people.  

So let's list a few of the changes that we need to see our leaders grapping with as we move forward.  

First, they need to clearly define who they consider to be less than.  Who they are willing allow to be left out of the blessings and good that our society in the future will share.  We know who these people and groups have been in the past.  However, in this crisis the citizens of the world have abandoned these prejudices and have helped those around them.  They did not check thier class or their bank balance or their background.  After experiencing this for many weeks this should also become the norm we expect of our leaders.  

Second, leaders are all talking about the "economic consequences" of a prolonged shut down.  It appears that this will be inevitable, unless we want to abandon the containment of the virus and are willing to sacrifice thousands of lives.  This might be one of the hidden blessing this crisis is offering to us.  It might be asking us to move from an economy of greed to an economy of sufficiency!  From individuals to giant corporations there have been those who seek only to profit from this crisis.  But this is not the norm and it is not the desire fo the average citizen who is helping family and neighbours.  

The greed economy is based on perpetual growth and it involves the syphoning off of a great portion of the real wealth into the hands of "self" be that individual or corporate.  The past few decades have seen the growth of two phenomena - the first is the expansion of the self storage industry - the second is the wealth of the world being held by the 1% or the 1%.  Both of these are totally counter productive if we are to move to a sufficiency economy.  

A sufficiency economy is organic.  It is seasonal.  It has ebbs and flows.  But over the cycle of the seasons what is produced is used to give quality of life and create the new growth for the coming seasons.  

This crisis has indicated that just as in history the current holders of power will find their absolute power slipping away.  They may still have the money, but it won't last for as we circulate the good we have, as we accept the blessings of this moment and share those blessings with others we will have all we truly need.  

Our prayer is that those who have storage lockers will find a way to circulate their accumulated stuff.  The lightness of spirit they will experience will be multiplied by the gratefulness of those in need who are blessed by their backlog.  

Our prayer for those who have hidden their wealth behind the dams of investments and banks is that they will realize that circulation is the key to life.  Even great lakes that do not have sufficient circulation turn sick and no longer support life around them.  

We would ask that you get ready for changes we could never have imagined while you build your life and the future of our community and world on the concept of sufficiency.