and the agreements we hold about them
For over a year now, we have witnessed the havoc the recent economic downturn has wreaked, both locally and globally. Property values have plummeted, investments have dwindled and unemployment has risen dramatically. Retirement plans have been scrapped, many have and still are, loosing their homes, lives have been irreparably altered, and in some cases, even lost. Crime, homelessness, stress, stress related disease, and blood pressure rates have all risen. Prescription medication use for depression, stress and pain has risen. We have all felt the effects in some way. I have seen endless stories of people who have done everything right and through no fault of their own, are now experiencing devastating circumstances.
I consider all of the above , to be needless suffering. They are all due to the agreements that we hold. We agree that we are separate from each other, we agree that some of us are better than others, we agree that some of us are superior to others, more deserving, more entitled and the list goes on and on, but I think you get the idea. We actually agree that how much money one has, or lack there of can, determine whether a person lives or dies, how insane is this? Think about this, take a moment right here, right now and think about that last statement. I personally would find it impossible, to look into the eyes of another human being, and refuse them food, clothing , shelter, education, health care or any other basic necessity, simply because they lack funds. Every person on the planet deserves access to all the basics of life, simply by virtue of being alive. Every life is significant, each human being is as special as any who have lived, are living now, or will live in the future.
You may think this to be quite the statement, how can this come to be, how can we ever meet everyone’s daily needs? How can we afford to? Easily, by agreeing that we can. We do this already, on a daily basis, though on a much smaller scale. We meet the daily needs of our spouses, children, parents, beloved family members and close friends without even a thought of reward, reciprocity or compensation. We do this because we want for all of these fine people to be happy, healthy and able to follow their dreams and fulfill their potential. All we need to do, with respect to the rest of the planet, is expand our view of family. Another reason we care so well for our families and friends, is the contributions they make to our lives, they care for us, validate us, love us and bring their own special, individualized gifts to our lives. By not allowing every person on the planet access to their daily needs, we as a society, all lose. We are cheated of the potential contributions to our lives, that another, halfway across the globe, in poverty’s grip, can not make. How can we expect someone to rise to fulfill their potential, if their every thought is consumed with matters of daily existence?
I come to this line of thinking from the perspective that we are all connected, we are all truly One. We are one species, on one blue planet, in the vastness of space. To quote Dr. Carl Sagan, “An organism at war with itself, is doomed”. As you can imagine, when explaining this perspective to some people, I am met with rolling eyes and comments like airy fairy, Utopian type thinking. And that is OK, you can still come to the agreement, to meet everyone’s needs from the perspective of whats in it for me, my only concerns are for myself and my family. How you ask? Simple. What if someone, halfway across the globe, previously denied the opportunity to follow their dreams, suddenly obtained it? What song might that person sing, what screenplay might they write, what might they invent, that would enrich your life or the life of your family? And if that is not good enough, what if such a person were to find the cure for a disease that has taken or will take members of ones family? I have not found anyone who would argue with that last statement.
So now comes the question, how do we get there? I have a small suggestion. Rethink, revisit, reevaluate and revise our system of economics. We may even want to eliminate all together, this thing we call money. I am of the firm belief, that we do not need cash to run this planet, we would be better off without it. As I have previously mentioned, I do not have all the answers, but I am sure that better minds than mine can find some. Perhaps the concept of money can kick in at some point beyond the basic necessities of life, after the needs of all are met and everyone has the opportunity to bring to fruition, the gifts they have to give. Think about it, almost every societal ill is tied to money. In a world without money, crime rates would plummet. What reason would there be to steal, embezzle or commit fraud of any kind? For the most part, whenever anything illegal, shady or questionable happens, it has been said, follow the money and you will find the answers. Money can do nothing for you, it is just a piece of paper, it can not feed you, care for you, shelter you, clothe you, or keep you healthy, We only agree that it can. Actually, there is nothing at all wrong with money, it is our thought /agreement about it.
I would like at this time, to give a brief vision of what a world without money would look like. A broader, more detailed version can be found in my yet unpublished book, A Profane Road to a Profound Life, which I am sure Oprah will choose shortly, for a book club selection.
Well, lets put it this way, if Oprah were to hold up my book and say, its worthless, don’t buy it, I would still be grateful, for that alone would make it a must read. Ahhh, but I digress, on to my vision, this post is getting quite long and I don’t want to lose you. There is virtually no facet of life that would not benefit from a cashless world. No one would be unemployed, if I came to you tomorrow and said, the money you have in the bank, your investments and retirement plan are now worth nothing, you would, most likely, not be too pleased. But, if I also told you, you would never have to worry about food, clothing, shelter education or health care, you might want be interested in hearing more. If I again told you, that what would be required of you would be about 10-15 hours of service a week, to perform the daily functions necessary in your community, you may be further intrigued. Beyond those 10-15 hours, you are free to follow your passion. Learn, teach, write, heal, research, sing, dance, whatever you wish. You may even find that service to your community is your passion and you may elect to do more than the 10-15 hours. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “If you want to be great, wonderful. If you want to be recognized, wonderful. But recognize, that the greatest among you, will be your servant”. In a world without money, those who serve, will be held in high regard. The great among us indeed. Were you to give the above scenario to every person on our planet, the greater percentage would sign up for it in a fraction of a heartbeat.
Were we to make this shift tomorrow, I am of the firm belief that in less than 10 years we will cure most or all diseases, reverse global warming, eliminate from the human experience homelessness, poverty, hunger and improve the quality of our lives far beyond anything we have dreamed of. Instead of simply making a living, we will all begin to make a life. Instead of seeing money and power as our god, we will see each other, as the most valuable resource on the planet. Of course, our current state of consciousness requires a little tweaking before we can make this shift. But remember, you can still do all of this from a whats in it for me consciousness, you just need to be aware of all your missing out on when others are oppressed. It is really not that big of a jump to make.
the mechanics of the shift
To explain in depth how the logistics of all this would come to be, would lengthen this post considerably. So I will attempt a brief idea of the vision. Keep in mind, this is just one mans vision, I am in no way, shape or form attached to this as the only way. There are many roads to the same destination, it matters not what road we take. OK, Here goes. Since we no longer use cash, all of the structures we now use for financial purposes, will no longer be needed. This will immediately solve homelessness, we will have more than enough room to house those that need homes, with room to spare. Walk through any shopping mall, walk down any commercial strip , and you will see store after store, that sell the same products. We will no longer need all of these stores, as we will now only be interested in providing the best product possible. This will result in just a few different manufacturers for any given product, strictly for the sake of variety, not quality. Additionally, there are a myriad of stores that we will be able to discard entirely, I call them stores full of stuff that nobody needs. They usually offer things such as souvenirs, figurines, novelty items and the like. All of these products are manufactured for the simple goal of making money, they add nothing to anyone’s life or their decor, they usually wind up collecting dust on a shelf somewhere until people tire of them, ultimately, they take up space in a landfill. The elimination of all the duplication of stores, as well as the stores full of stuff that no one needs, will lessen the burden we place on our planet by not requiring the raw material for all the extra products as well as the waste products caused by the factories manufacturing said products.
All of the people that were previously involved in the financial arena, manufacturing and retailing of the products I just spoke of, will now be free to pursue their passion and significantly add to society, instead of consuming their time with their previous pursuits. Many of which brought no joy to them at all, they can now begin to make a life, instead of making a living. All of these people will also now be able to put in the 10-15 hours of service I spoke of previously, which is why the amount of time required is so small. Most doctors, nurses, researchers and all those involved in the medical fields will most likely remain there. Most entered the field in hopes of being able to help others and that will not change, I would imagine, these fields would grow exponentially with financial concerns out of the way. This would provide the benefit of many more talented minds, working on cures for diseases and physical ailments, making great strides in eliminating them from the human experience. Most people would now be able to “work” in their communities rather than commute to where they can make money. This would just about eliminate traffic and significantly cut down on the pollution caused by the consumption of fossil fuels. I am of the firm belief, that our beautiful planet would begin to heal itself if we just give it the chance. Besides this, we will have many more researchers working on correcting climate change. We will quickly begin to wonder why we previously showered our entertainers and athletes with dollars, yet left our researchers and teacher begging for pennies.
This shift will also benefit us greatly in he reduction of stress and stress related disease, most of which are all brought on by the anxiety, concern and worry of making a living. I have a close family member, who suffers from depression, a good deal of which is brought on by the stress of daily existence. Were this to be removed from their experience, I am certain the condition would greatly improve. I recently witnessed two co-workers retire, as a result of having more time to themselves, they began pay more attention to their health. They both lost a significant amount of weight, feel better, look better, are happier, and are off their blood pressure and diabetes medication. Not to mention the improved quality of their lives from spending more time with their families. This is just a small example of the benefits of this new agreement. There is no facet of life I can think of, or that has been presented to me, that would not be improved. Feel free to question me on this, I welcome the dialog and the possibilities it may provide.
So finally, in closing, let me say once again, I am not attached to this vision exactly as it is presented here. There are many smarter, brighter, wiser minds than mine, that can take this idea, mold and shape it many different ways. What I am attached to is the results, the improvement of the quality of the human experience and the healing of our beloved planet. Would you care to join me, in the thought and hold the space in your heart for a new way forward? A new experience for our species? A new agreement!!
Thanks so very much for stopping by. Be well, Be peace. Join the conversation!