Category: Economy & Values

In life, it must be that things are shaped, in large part, by our relationships: by all that comes to meet us and how we, in turn, take our place in relation to it all. This sense in which we’re “met” by our environment, our community, all those around us, and the ideas informing their thinking – everything washing over us until we pin it down into some semblance of order, meaning, identity or purpose.

Isn’t it what we do? Create meaning. Take all we see, assign it its place, then chart our course within reality as we came to see it. All the ideas we were handed shaping our interpretations of things; what they’re worth; why they matter. As if we’re all just woven into this world – our human connections, place within society as it currently exists, and grasp of the thinking that’s pervading our way of life.

And maybe that’s always been the case: that humans arrive on the scene within the context of their family, their place of origin, their plusses and their minuses. Each individual emerging “somewhere” with their personalities, outlooks, priorities and interests. The uniqueness of each person somehow blending with the situation into which they were placed through no seeming choice or merit of their own.

How is it that we form our relationship to it all, deciding which things we’ll hold to and which we’ll let fall away? This fundamental acceptance or rejection of what’s presented that comes to form our own set of feelings, conclusions and choices. As if, in youth, life passes before us and we decide what we’ll think about it and which paths we’ll take.

Effectively then standing in relationship to all that’s around us: our past and its formative forces; our judgements or preconceptions about those we’ll meet; our awareness of society and its mechanisms; our overarching sense of what life is. Woven so tightly into our own experiences and sense of personal identity or worth, tending to see the world in light of how it affects us – refracting reality through that lens.

The thought of all we’re born into seems so interesting: all the ideas and all the systems that engulf us. That we all exist “somewhere” within it all, facing all the obstacles or opportunities that creates and all the positive or negative judgements turned toward us. As if we’re all tangled in this web of ideas and web of realities with which humanity’s divided up the planet.

In many ways, it seems true that we stand in relationship to every other being: that lines could be drawn between each one of us and between us and all the “resources” of nature. These connections of meaning, recognition, value and respect that are established, one way or another, between “us” and everything that’s making up our existence

Within modern life, how clear are those relationships? Beyond the tangibly visible communities of our recent past, how can we weave together a meaningful sense for all our lives now are?

Notes and References:

Threads, becoming a united whole
If environment shapes us…
Pieces of the puzzle
How much everything is connected
Winning the lottery…
Being conscious of our constructions
All we’re trying to uphold
Belonging & believing
Conversations we agree to have

To what extent are we generally wanting to be free of things? Looking for release from “this way of life” or seeking some greater meaning or recognition than currently seems offered. This sense of “life” as something to be endured while cobbling together enough ideas capable of making us feel it’s worthwhile and our presence here is valuable not only to us but also to others.

Isn’t life, in its way, all about value? All that’s gained or lost in how we spend our time. How much we’re appreciating the efforts of others within the vast interconnected network of our collective existence. The differing levels of recognition people get for their situations in life. This complex balance of how any given thing is valued within our overarching sense of reality.

And, in that, it seems hard to say circumstances aren’t largely shaped by birth: by all we step into through no fault or effort of our own. As if the ties of blood are those carrying an incredible amount of weight in the life any one person might lead. Aside from the genetic or financial aspects, there’s that whole sticky coating of the social, cultural and emotional environment we’re all met with.

Aren’t we quite literally born into all the circumstances society contains? Each person standing in a slightly or dramatically different spot and experiencing what life’s like from there. As if humanity “appears” within these structures then lives through the opportunities, judgements and realities presented – this lived experience of all it currently is to be human.

I’d imagine we all hope life will be fair and meaningful: that the faces turned toward us would be a reasonable reflection of our true worth as it’s allowed to unfold and find its place. That we wouldn’t be boxed in by unrealistic notions of human value based on circumstances almost entirely beyond anyone’s control. That the value-system we’re living within makes sense, from all angles.

It just seems strange, at times, the kinds of thinking so tightly woven round us: the kinds of judgements we’re making of others and ourselves, often stemming from the encouragement of commercial interests; the kinds of lives people have placed before them; the kinds of stories, characters and behaviour held up as admirable. It may be something we stepped into, but what if it’s not helpful?

Sometimes I wonder if ideas aren’t simply mistaken – if the elusive victory isn’t to shift our thinking to something that values everything more realistically. Could we not genuinely see everyone’s existence as valuable? Each person being born into circumstances which generally need resolving somehow, for the sake of society as well as the individual.

Much as lotteries themselves almost seem like a hope tax for those seeking escape from society – the chance to live as the lucky few are able – could we not structure things so people felt more rightly valued for whatever their lives actually are? As if we all formed part of an appreciative and purposeful state of coexistence.

Notes and References:

Threads, becoming a united whole
Life as adjustments in meaning
Self-love as a social foundation
Being conscious of our constructions
How would we like to live?
Value and meaning in our lives
Does it all come down to money?

What does it really mean for the world that we’re so interested in owning things? This idea that, of all that exists, some we might claim as “ours” then enjoy, trade or wield on that basis. We’re surely the only being on the planet that’s attached to itself this concept of having rights like it: binding ourselves to objects and all the power which that creates.

How would life be different if we weren’t operating that way? If things couldn’t be owned so much as used and then returned. If nothing we touched were permanently ours, but a shared asset which we carried responsibility for while it was in our care. Because, doesn’t owning things fundamentally shift the balance? Creating this heavy pull in a certain direction; a hold people naturally won’t want to relinquish.

Sometimes it just seems that the ideas we have in mind might be creating a lot of problems. Don’t they really establish the parameters of the game? And, like any set of rules, setting them out in clear terms seems to have the effect of creating something many then try to work around or turn to their advantage. That, as thinking beings, we’re naturally inclined to seek the most for ourselves out of any given situation.

Almost as if, with this concept of ownership, we created a world where thinking mainly of yourself can really pay off in terms of the power, status and freedom accrued. As if our ideas created this world that we now have to live with – a place of accumulating wealth, inequality and vested interests. Because anyone owning anything naturally means others do not and must negotiate for access to it.

That said, it’s clearly the foundation stone of Western thought and a legacy we perhaps quite innocently receive from the past – all that was placed in our hands. If this thinking that informed the past were somehow unworkable, perhaps we’ve little choice but to address that now, from within, while hoping we’ve since found ideas better able to match all humanity’s diversity and our place within broader realities.

Quite aside from the systemic, though, isn’t ownership problematic in other ways? All this desire to possess things, make them ours, then defend them against others. All that psychological security we seem to seek in belongings and the admiration they can bring. All the ways our energies in life are so often directed toward getting more and what that’ll then “mean” about who we are as people – our identity, status or worth.

Isn’t any kind of ownership immediately creating division? Highlighting difference or lack as a means of defining the self. Attaching value to our possessions and all they’re said to “say” about us. This sense in which our ideas of life’s worth are somehow tied up with individual relationships to physical items. The fundamental power structure of how humans once carved up and assigned the planet’s finite resources.

Might it not be that other ideas could serve us all much better?

Notes and References:

The value we’re giving to things
Markets, and what they might mean
How much is in the hands of the market
Solving all the problems we’re creating
Do markets create strange social forces?
Value and meaning in our lives
Is there any end to the power of thought?

When it comes to making decisions in life, does money really have to speak more loudly than other ways of evaluating our options? Sometimes it just seems that, at every choice point we face, financial interests are standing there beckoning us down “their” path – asking we view things predominantly through that particular lens and cast everything in the light of gain, loss or wisdom on that material level.

As if, in some way, every other conceivable value we may hold – kindness, compassion, fairness, empathy, restraint, consideration for others, harmony, preservation, love – has to stand against the value of money and see which will win. Because it really seems that money has a logic entirely its own: its own set of values, principles and priorities. Its own morality, perhaps?

Fundamentally, it perhaps “is” its own reality? This sense in which the world was carved up and placed in certain hands, giving those people the power to negotiate, control and trade whatever assets they held. All our resources effectively shared out, owned, defended. As if the planet were simply converted to money at some mysterious point in the past and, since then, things play out as they will.

Not every culture seems to see material resources as ownable assets, though. Many view our relationship to reality differently; more in terms of custodianship, conservation or cooperation. Maybe, assigning anything a distinct value, we created this conflict over ownership and the power that inevitably brings? As if the very notion of “money” divides us and sets us against one another.

Might it not be that our ideas are simply mistaken? Destined mainly to lead us into competition and otherwise questionable decisions regarding our environment. As if this fundamental value-system set up in the past is somehow distorting how we’re looking at things and the courses we’re taking within this one shared reality.

If money weren’t a factor, how would we act differently? If, instead of crunching the numbers and letting that be decisive, we had to stack up all our ideals, principles and beliefs and have them determine the paths we’ll take in life. As a fundamentally different conversation, stemming from the world of thought rather than the world of limited financial concerns, wouldn’t the realities of our lives potentially change quite dramatically?

Not that we can do such a thing. In reality, money being incredibly powerful in terms of the opportunities it affords, few seem likely to relinquish that advantage and let things evolve otherwise. Seen through evolutionary eyes, money seems to be what pushes some ahead while keeping others behind – this line along which modern society is, perhaps, splitting itself in two.

At the end of it all, though, if we had to account for what had been our driving force through all the decisions we’ve made, will it be enough to say we let money take the place of any other value judgements? If we’re standing here deciding what matters most to us, what kinds of choices are we really making?

Notes and References:

Values, and what’s in evidence
Does it all come down to money?
Gaining clarity on the choices before us
Do markets create strange social forces?
If life’s a sum, are our choices calculations?
Values, compromise & how things are
Are we wise, living this way?

Of all the ways we could conceivably be living in this world, how is it we’re choosing to spend our time? Out of all the options, suggestions, established or hypothetical patterns of behaviour, and thoughts we can choose between, what methods are we using to determine the course our lives will take? And, how aware are we of all those decisions come to represent within our environment?

Wouldn’t it be interesting to “see” all the forces that are reshaping the world to meet the demands of the Western marketplace? All the lives impacted by our choices. The insistent chipping away at global resources. This sense in which, instead of the free unfolding of whatever interests lie within each of us, we’re living with a distorted suppression of individuals to fill the seemingly endless demands of others. (Notes One)

Doesn’t concern over efficiency and productivity tend to squeeze the life out of things, until we’re just the carefully managed faces of the machine? Forgetting, perhaps, that “all this” is only “there” to meet the genuine needs of human communities. Justifying all manner of things on the grounds that they’re simply part of the economy – this inevitable cycle of people seeking ways to make ends meet. (Notes Two)

If we stopped with it all, wouldn’t whole chunks of all that’s been built around this way of being come grinding to a halt? All the livelihoods, projections, expectations and identities constructed around the idea of this continuing. This strange bubble of unnecessary, indulgent, wasteful, impulsive consumption that seems to constitute so much of what’s going on.

Beneath it all, how many reasonable, constructive things are still happening? What’s left of those earlier notions of restraint, balance and harmonious coexistence? How much of our planet’s being consumed this way? Relationships between people and their countries strained as global production strives to fulfil our every whim.

Is it really the best way to be mapping our physical and psychological needs to the finite resources of any environment? Thinking that what we’re wanting somehow defines, completes or enriches our lives. With so much money and so many products changing hands on this basis, might it not be that we’ve taken a perfectly sustainable, beautiful world and decimated it with unbridled insecurity and greed?

Imagining, also, the bubble of all we’re thinking and feeling within this way of life, what are we generating? How meaningful is it to be living alongside one another like this, spending time as we are, with everything that’s running through our heads while we do so? If we were to strip all the nonessential, manufactured psychological elements out of the picture, what would be left? (Notes Three)

While we might, in many ways, simply be picking up where others left off, does that mean we shouldn’t be thinking things through for ourselves and deciding what we truly want our lives to be part of? Hopefully, finding ways to actively uphold the principles needed to construct and sustain a healthy way of being.

Notes and References:

Note 1: Do markets create strange social forces?
Note 1: Values, compromise & how things are
Note 1: How would we like to live?
Note 1: Who gets to define us
Note 2: Value and meaning in our lives
Note 2: Does it all come down to money?
Note 2: Humans, tangled in these systems
Note 2: The value we’re giving to things
Note 3: Solving all the problems we’re creating
Note 3: How much is in the hands of the market
Note 3: Lacking the human side of community?
Note 3: All we’re expected to understand

Much as society might revolve around the idea of markets, what does that actually mean for us as the humans living within them? While it might, as a way of life, purport to meet all our needs, isn’t this also chipping away at our self-worth and long-term security on this planet? Arranging the whole of our lives around this notion sometimes seems a strange way to be going about things.

Doesn’t it tend, as a way of thinking, to ripple out through every area of our lives? Everything becoming something to package up, sell or put behind a paywall. Nothing seemingly impervious to this power money has to convert everything to its way of thinking. Everything “can”, perhaps, be conceived of that way, but does that mean it should? (Notes One)

As if there’s no other way of thinking, no other means of looking at reality and operating within it – no other values capable of standing against the promise of profit or growth. As if we’re simply “right” to see life that way; casting it all in the light of supply, demand, producers, consumers, products, services, and captive audiences. The whole of life somehow becoming a market offering.

Of course, we have needs, as do all things that live (Notes Two), but is this the best way to be meeting them? Sometimes it seems we’re not even “trying” to meet them; simply to create interlocking sets of mutually contradictory demands. Isn’t this system better off if we have as many needs as possible? If our problems can be exacerbated to the point where those needs can never be filled.

Isn’t it almost a picture of society undermining “us” for the sake of profit? Our psychological needs for meaning, purpose, status, self-esteem, belonging, acceptance, love becoming this bottomless source of potential demand – if only we can be convinced we’re not quite enough without something more. As if, in a system reliant on demand, the easiest solution is to tap into human psyche. (Notes Three)

From there, don’t we start living in a world that’s forever trying to mess with our minds? Planting seeds of doubt, threads of new meaning, and drawing us into narratives we never knew we needed on our path to self-fulfilment and a purposeful existence. If we can only be persuaded to accept these ideas as true, build our lives around them and convey them to others.

But what does it mean if we become accustomed to living this way? Forever chasing the next thing on this never-ending path of perpetual consumerism as our search for meaning becomes a quest for more – as if we’re ever going to “arrive” and find our true worth that way (Notes Four). “Life” might throw up recurrent needs to be met, but where “is” that elusive line between essentials and illusions?

What does it mean if the genuine needs of a human lifetime have taken on this strange form within society? This conversation we’ve often little choice but to be drawn into.

Notes and References:

Note 1: If life’s a sum, are our choices calculations?
Note 1: “The way things should be” as an add-on
Note 1: How much is in the hands of the market
Note 2: Things with life have to be maintained
Note 2: Appreciating other ways of being
Note 2: Green as an idea
Note 3: Solving all the problems we’re creating
Note 3: Markets, and what they might mean
Note 3: The value we’re giving to things
Note 4: Does it all come down to money?
Note 4: Value and meaning in our lives
Note 4: Absolute or relative value

How often in life are people going into things with the finest of intentions, only to have that spirit crushed by the weight of “how things are”? This idea that, somewhere, there’s a point between “dreams”, “money” and “reality” where the desire to make a difference gets outweighed, buried or suppressed. As if we, with our values, are walking through life trying to emerge unscathed by it all.

Isn’t youth generally a place of idealism? A time when we believe things can change and expect the world to be good. This childlike spirit that gets, almost inevitably, broken by the realities we encounter over the years. As if life in the real world “means” to have hopes crushed by how things are and the imperfection we find at almost every turn. (Notes One)

Does it have to be that way? Sometimes it seems we’re compromised simply by being part of this system with all its inequality and injustice – this inherited burden humanity’s path to this point places on our shoulders through no fault of our own. This sense of almost everything we meet in life being founded on unequal relationships, environmental destruction or questionable values.

Is idealism simply unrealistic, then? In reality, maybe there’s always compromise by way of us inheriting flawed systems based on an imperfect sense of how we might bring ideals to life. Is that what life is? Being on the receiving end of all we’ve been working towards so far – all the good and all of the bad. This idea of progress being a journey, each generation striving to improve on whatever’s been handed to them. (Notes Two)

In that light, are we right to crumple under to weight of “how things are” and resign ourselves to making the most of what’s on offer? Giving up the fight – or, giving into temptations – we may find ourselves reassured by those who’ve taken similar paths, but where does it leave things down the line? If we’re jumping in with good intentions, having them crushed and justifying that as inevitable then our future seems bleak.

Maybe it’s simply that realities are complex and, working within them, ideals struggle to hold their own? Perhaps, painting compromise as an irredeemable moral failing, we find there’s no place for idealism alongside all life’s practical demands. Can we operate within flawed, compromised systems yet still hold to the highest ideals once paths are created for realising them? (Notes Three)

Life sometimes seems so all or nothing, with anything less than unerring perfection being worthless. But, is that realistic either? It seems unlikely many would already be fully aware of all we need to be, risking us all just tearing one another down. Finding the right ways to bring values to life in every area where they count seems rightfully daunting: if it all matters, how are we to unravel compounded mistakes?

Defending all the points our intentional engagement serves to underline what truly matters may be hard, but where are we without it?

Notes and References:

Note 1: How much do intentions matter?
Note 1: The relationship between statistics & reality
Note 1: Where’s the reset button & can we press it?
Note 1: Values, and what’s in evidence
Note 2: Dystopia as a powerful ideal
Note 2: Ideals & the pursuit of them
Note 2: On whose terms? 
Note 2: Imperfection as perfection?
Note 2: Passing on what’s important
Note 3: Connecting truthfully with life
Note 3: Will things change if we don’t make them?
Note 3: Values on which we stand firm?

Thinking of all the ways our lives can be boiled down to figures, everything reduced to money and the decisions we’re most likely to make given the resources we have to hand, isn’t it almost true that life is a sum? One where we’re forever trying to get ahead, make the most of things and shift to better positions. Much, of course, already being determined by the outset and by the systems surrounding us.

It’s interesting to imagine how “our lives” intersect with the world of belongings and money: the cards we’re each dealt, insight with which we might play them, and question of whether other values might ever stand against economic thinking (Notes One). “Life” can certainly be looked at and broken down using those terms – everything seen in the light of financial worth and all that can buy.

Sometimes it seems like “the most important thing”, the defining element in how our lives are going to be, how we’ll be viewed by others and the opportunities we’ll have. As if our lives really are a sum. But one where those starting high are almost guaranteed to go higher while those coming in low stand little chance of progressing much beyond that. How did we get to that point? Where birth determines so much.

Beyond that, though, isn’t there a sense in which seeing life “this way” makes us predictable? Each person viewing their assets in relation to this system we’ve created, it seems the choices any of us might make become rather foreseeable: we’ll act for our own enhancement or the protection of our existing situation. Calculations we’ve already made for our future becoming the lines we’ll defend when questions are asked.

Won’t we tend to maintain our own interests? As if society’s been carved up – assets allocated, chances determined, people profiled – and “how we’re likely to act” is essentially a calculation based on where we’re each known to stand. This sense in which democratic choices can be designed to appeal to certain segments: offering people some advantage that’s sure to buy their vote and secure their support. (Notes Two)

Almost as if the world’s been divided, power placed in certain hands and systems created to protect those interests, so calculations “can” be done to ensure the paths taken are those seen as desirable. If we’re all acting based on our personal – often, economic – concerns, can’t it all be predicted from the start? What to offer each person, the carrots and sticks that can shift things in directions of someone’s choosing.

Aren’t there values capable of standing against that? Other ways we might view our situations and collectively chart a course that works better for everyone? This sense in which we might step out of ourselves to see how things work from all angles, making decisions on behalf of the whole – whether that’s society, environment or whatever other concerns we might hold dear. (Notes Three)

How much might life change if we started looking at it all differently?

Notes and References:

Note 1: The self within society
Note 1: Does it all come down to money?
Note 1: Humans, tangled in these systems
Note 1: Making ends meet
Note 2: How are we supposed to choose?
Note 2: Appealing to human nature or the human spirit
Note 2: How much is in the hands of the market
Note 2: Those who are leading us
Note 3: What should be leading us?
Note 3: Understanding what we’re all part of
Note 3: Integrity and integration
Note 3: Value and meaning in our lives

These days, particularly, is life all about money? This sense in which we’re all accumulating more or peddling away to simply break even. Isn’t it generally one or the other? Those “with” money tending to see it steadily increase while those without it seem destined to tread water forever within these rising tides.

Doesn’t it seem that costs will always be rising? There’s always something “more” we need, some new basic standard for security or status within this fast-developing world. As if we’re chasing something that will always be shifting just out of reach. Perhaps, a sure footing in life? A place where our worth, our social or material safety, is assured and we don’t have to fight to maintain it. (Notes One)

Of course, we must find ways for our genuine needs to be met, it just seems like the way we’ve being doing so might be quite seriously and dangerously flawed. How much of our psychological, environmental, social or international stability are we wise to be placing in the market’s hands? To what extent is the natural human need for acceptance, worth and status becoming a source of endangerment for us all? (Notes Two)

It just seems that the way we’ve been going about things has created as many destabilising forces within and between our communities as it has in all our personal lives. Aren’t we constantly seeking our worth and power on those terms? Needing the money to buy whatever things will make us appear valuable in the eyes of others. Wanting whatever freedom, leverage or influence money can offer us.

Isn’t it often leading to questionable ethical decisions? All the ways we’re buying into situations that cause harm, directly or indirectly, to others through what we’re empowering by way of our payment (Notes Three). As if we’re driven to make poor choices or allegiances on purely economic grounds – justifying them in terms of whatever savings, assets or gains we might’ve made through the transaction. As if that’s all that counts.

And, all the while we’re seeing worth and value through the lens of money, it seems unlikely things will really change (Notes Four). As if, in all reality, our decisions now simply come down to money and will be judged wise or reasonable on those grounds alone. Is it true? Can everything be cast in financial terms and made to look admirable in that light? As if there are no other values capable of standing up against this.

What would life be like if we took money out of the equation? If, in all the places “money” is the deciding factor, we had to justify our choices some other way? As if money were just the finishing touch to quite a different chain of reasoning, where other values had to make their presence felt and be the considerations that determined the course of our actions.

Instead of being guided by merely economic interests, could we find more harmonious, less damaging ways of meeting all our needs?

Notes and References:

Note 1: Value and meaning in our lives
Note 1: Who gets to define us
Note 1: Market forces or social necessities
Note 1: Making ends meet
Note 2: Living in luxury, on what grounds?
Note 2: Solving all the problems we’re creating
Note 2: Economy as a battleground
Note 3: What we create by our presence
Note 3: Attention as a resource
Note 4: The insatiable desire for more
Note 4: Advantage people don’t want to concede
Note 4: Values on which we stand firm?

Within our lives, aren’t we expected to understand quite a lot? For example, all the ways those lives intersect: our choices and actions rippling out from us into the collective systems and realities effectively governing everyone’s lives. If everything we’re doing forms part of this world we’re all sharing, creating consequences all round us, what difference does it make if we understand that or not?

It seems amazing how much and how quickly our lives have changed from relatively small-scale communities to large and inscrutable ones. Didn’t it used to be that people “would” understand their world? Systems and groupings having been small and transparent enough that those living within them would, naturally, “know” how things worked, who was involved and where impacts were felt. (Notes One)

Now, it seems so much is hidden from sight. Don’t we really have to “look” to wrap our head around how this modern world’s actually working? To see who owns what, how they’re operating, whose lives are affected, and the forces being unsettled or unleashed within the delicate fabric of each individual society or life.

Sometimes it seems impossible to understand; especially given all we have to deal with (Notes Two). Almost as if life’s become too complicated – on both systemic and practical levels – for people to find the time, mental bandwidth or courage to dig into the realities rapidly taking shape around them. Isn’t it easier and, perhaps, more pressing to simply get on with our lives and make the best of them?

Is it “enough” to go along with things, though? To resign ourselves to living lives we don’t quite understand; creating consequences we never imagined; playing parts in situations beyond our awareness. Can we really hope to claim we’re not responsible for all our lives are setting in motion? As if “they” are responsible by having presented us with the options. (Notes Three)

Within the marketplaces of modern life, however, aren’t “we” the ones bearing the burden of choice? Isn’t it for us to understand, see how it all comes together, and ensure our choices are the best they could be? This sense in which we have to keep pace with what’s going on – constantly stretching out our grasp of reality and where life’s heading – if we’re to hope to make the kinds of choices we’re prepared to stand by.

How are we to do that? How, in every possible area, are we to understand enough to make fully-informed, responsible decisions? If it’s not possible, are we to defer to others? Shifting responsibility for our choices onto the heads of experts, advisers or public opinion, as we go along with what we’re told or what everyone else seems to be doing.

Is that enough? Not to understand, but to be guided. If we’re not able to find the time or information needed to gain enough clarity to decide for ourselves which paths in life we want to put the weight of our participation behind, where’s all this likely to lead?

Notes and References:

Note 1: Connecting truthfully with life
Note 1: Understanding what we’re all part of
Note 1: Humans, tangled in these systems
Note 1: What does community mean?
Note 2: Life’s never been simpler…
Note 2: Overwhelm and resignation
Note 2: Understanding & staying informed
Note 2: “Paradox of Choice”
Note 3: Systems, their power, whose hands?
Note 3: All we concern ourselves with & encourage
Note 3: Will things change if we don’t make them?
Note 3: What we create by our presence

In all of this, aren’t we generally always facing up to The incredible responsibility of freedom?