Je, ikiwa tungepima mali katika suala la maisha, na jinsi tunavyoitumikia vizuri?
David Korten alianza maisha yake ya kitaaluma kama profesa katika Shule ya Biashara ya Harvard kwa dhamira ya kuwaondoa watu wanaohangaika katika mataifa ya Dunia ya Tatu kutoka kwenye umaskini kwa kueleza siri za mafanikio ya biashara ya Marekani. Hata hivyo, baada ya miongo kadhaa ambapo alitumia mikakati yake ya maendeleo ya shirika katika maeneo ya mbali kama vile Ethiopia, Nicaragua, na Ufilipino, Korten alibadili moyo wake. Mnamo 1995, aliandika kitabu kilichouzwa zaidi Wakati Mashirika Yanatawala Ulimwengu , kikifuatwa na mfululizo wa vitabu vilivyosaidia kuzaliwa kwa vuguvugu linalojulikana kama Uchumi Mpya, wito wa kuchukua nafasi ya utawala wa mashirika ya kimataifa na uchumi wa ndani, udhibiti, umiliki, na kujitegemea.
Mwezi huu, Korten, ambaye pia ni mwanzilishi mwenza na mwenyekiti wa bodi ya YES!, anachapisha kitabu kipya kinachotoa changamoto kwa wasomaji kutafakari upya uhusiano wao na Dunia—hakika, pamoja na viumbe vyote, kuanzia chembe ndogo zaidi ya quantum hadi ulimwengu mzima. Ulimwengu unahitaji "hadithi mpya," anasema. "Ikiwa viumbe vingi, kutia ndani Homo sapiens, wataishi, ni lazima tutambue Dunia kama kiumbe hai." Korten alizungumza kuhusu mabadiliko yake yanayoendelea na NDIYO! Mhariri Mtendaji Dean Paton.
Dean Paton : Niambie jinsi mtu ambaye alikuwa mtaalamu wa usimamizi wa shirika, na kisha kiongozi wa mawazo ya uchumi mpya, alivyofanya hatua hii kuwa pendekezo la kiroho kama vile lile la kisiasa—kwamba Dunia ni kiumbe hai, kwamba sisi sote kimsingi ni sehemu ya aina hii kubwa ya maisha.
"Inarudi kwa hili: Je, sisi ni sehemu ya asili? au mbali na asili?"
David Korten : Sio ngumu sana, kwa kweli - mara tu unapoingia kwenye sura ya Dunia-hai - kuona kwamba Dunia kimsingi ni shirika hili la viumbe hai linalounda na kudumisha hali muhimu kwa maisha. Ikiwa wewe ni mtaalamu wa shirika, au mwananadharia, hilo linazua swali la kuvutia sana: Je! mamilioni haya ya viumbe hufanya kazi kwa pamoja ili kudumisha uhai?
Paton : Kana kwamba kila kitu kina akili na kila kitu kina kusudi? Je, hilo linahusiana vipi na kitabu chako kipya, Badilisha Hadithi, Badilisha Wakati Ujao?
Korten : Kitabu kipya kinaweka muunganisho kati ya hadithi ya zamani ya "Pesa Takatifu na Masoko" na hadithi inayoibuka ya "Maisha Matakatifu na Hai Duniani". Ni viunzi viwili tofauti kabisa vinavyopelekea njia mbili tofauti kabisa za kufikiria kuhusu kupanga jamii. Unaweza kuona maisha kama njia ya kupata pesa, au unaona pesa kama nambari muhimu kwa kuweka akaunti katika maisha, lakini hazina thamani yenyewe. Kununua katika hadithi ya "Pesa Takatifu na Masoko" kwamba pesa ni utajiri na ufunguo wa furaha hutufunga katika utumwa wa kibinafsi kwa utawala wa shirika.
Paton : Unasema ni modeli ya maendeleo ya kitamaduni, au ubepari wa kimataifa, ambao unaharibu Dunia kama jumuiya hai, ikiwa ni pamoja na si wanadamu tu bali viumbe vyote. Hata hivyo sote tunategemea pesa, kwenye uchumi wa soko. Unafikiri kweli tunaweza kuacha utegemezi huo?
Korten : Bado tutatumia pesa na masoko, lakini tutaondoa udhibiti wa Wall Street wa kuunda na kugawa pesa. Kulikuwa na wakati huko Marekani ambapo taasisi zetu nyingi za fedha zilikuwa za ndani. Ambayo kimsingi ilimaanisha kuwa jumuiya za wenyeji ziliweza kuunda mikopo yao wenyewe, au pesa zao wenyewe, kwa kujibu mahitaji yao wenyewe. Bado tulitegemea benki, lakini ulikuwa ni mchakato wa kidemokrasia zaidi.
Paton : Kama jengo na mkopo wa George Bailey katika Ni Maisha ya Ajabu .
"Sisi wanadamu tunaishi kwa hadithi."
Korten : Hasa. Iwapo pesa zetu nyingi zingesambazwa katika jumuiya zetu badala ya kasino ya Wall Street, ingewezesha watu kujipanga ndani ili kukidhi mahitaji yao zaidi ya kiuchumi kwa kutumia rasilimali za ndani. Udhibiti wa pesa ndio njia kuu ya udhibiti wa kijamii katika jamii ambayo kila mtu hutegemea pesa kwa njia kuu za maisha - chakula, maji, makazi, joto, usafiri, burudani. Hii inatupeleka kwenye harakati za usahili wa hiari: Kadiri ninavyotegemea pesa kidogo, ndivyo ninavyokuwa huru. Tambua kuwa dhumuni pekee la halali la uchumi ni kutumikia maisha, ni kututumikia sisi kama viumbe hai na kufanya maisha yetu kwa ushirikiano wa uzalishaji na kuishi Duniani.
Paton : Je, hiyo inatafsiri vipi kuwa vitendo? Ikiwa tunapata watu elfu moja kusema, "Mimi ni kiumbe hai niliyezaliwa na kulelewa na Dunia iliyo hai," hiyo itaachaje kuvunjika? Je, hilo linawazuiaje Warusi kusukuma mafuta yote kutoka Kazakhstan na kuyauza duniani kote?
Korten : Inaweka wazi kabisa kwamba kuharibu mifumo ya maisha ya asili ambayo kuwepo kwetu kunategemea, ili kupata urekebishaji wa haraka wa nishati au faida ya haraka, ni wazimu halisi.
Paton : Kwa hivyo ikiwa sisi sote ni viumbe hai "waliozaliwa na Dunia iliyo hai," kama unavyosema, hiyo inaanza kuonekana wapi katika maisha yetu?
Korten : Sehemu kubwa yake inahusiana na kutambua athari za utegemezi wetu kwa pesa. Hii inarudi kwenye maendeleo kama mchakato wa kutenganisha watu kutoka kwa njia zao za uzalishaji wa kujikimu. Kadiri watu wanavyozidi kujitenga na kujizalisha, ndivyo wanavyozidi kutegemea pesa—na ndivyo wanavyozidi kuwa tegemezi kwa watu wanaodhibiti uundaji na ugawaji wa pesa.
Paton : Unamaanisha ninapokuwa tegemezi, ninakubali kuvunjika.
Korten : Ndiyo, unasema, "Ninahitaji pesa hizo. Watanilipa ili kuharibu mali yangu."
Paton : Unafikiri kweli Wamarekani wataweza kutupilia mbali imani kwamba pesa ni mfalme?
Korten : Ningesema watu wengi wanaikataa.
Paton : Wengi wetu hujibu bili ya dola 10. Au bonasi kazini. Au gari mpya.
Korten : Lakini tunajibu hilo kwa sababu tunakubali hadithi ya "Pesa Takatifu na Masoko" kwamba pesa ni utajiri, uzushi ambao unatuua.
Paton : Kwa hivyo unasema kwamba chaguo letu ni kati ya kufanya kazi na Dunia na kufanya kazi dhidi yake?
Korten : Inarudi kwa hili: Je, sisi ni sehemu ya asili? Au mbali na asili?
Paton : Kwa nini unasisitiza tupitishe hadithi hii ya "Dunia Hai"?
Korten : Kwa sababu sisi wanadamu tunaishi kwa hadithi.
Paton : Na hiyo inamaanisha…?
Korten : Inamaanisha kwamba ili kupanga kama jumuiya zilizopangwa, tunahitaji mfumo ulioshirikiwa—thamani za msingi na dhana—ili ninapohusiana nawe, nipate wazo fulani la jinsi utakavyojibu, kwa sababu tunashiriki hadithi yetu ya msingi.
Paton : Je, tuna chaguo?
Korten : Ndio, badilisha au ufe. Kiuhalisia kabisa. Kwa kweli huwezi kufahamu hadithi mpya—kama jamii—na kuendelea kuishi jinsi tunavyoishi. Kwanza unaanza kuelekea unyenyekevu zaidi wa hiari, ambayo ni, kwa kweli, kupunguza utegemezi wako wa pesa. Unaanza kufanya mambo zaidi mwenyewe. Unalipa kipaumbele zaidi kwa mahusiano yako, kwa uchumi wa zawadi. Labda unapata hisia ya ndani zaidi ya kuwa sehemu na mchangiaji wa ulimwengu unaoendelea unaoendelea kuelekea utata, uzuri, ufahamu, na uwezekano mkubwa zaidi. Hiyo ingemaanisha nini kwa jamii, halafu inamaanisha nini kwa jinsi ninavyoishi? Je, mchango wangu ni upi katika mabadiliko yanayohitajiwa na jamii? Nina wajibu wa kuwa sehemu ya mabadiliko haya—ambayo huanza kwa kubadilisha hadithi.
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"Are we a part of nature? Or apart from nature?"
This good question mirrors larger ones, such as, Are we a part of the divine? Or apart from the divine? Is our planet earth a part of the divine? Or is planet earth apart from the divine? What actually happens to us, to our humanity, and to all of life on our planet home when we believe and act as if the divine presence of God is never really present in our midst, that we cannot ever see, hear, touch, and know God right here, in this moment on this earth? Are we reserving all our seeing, hearing, touching, and knowing God for some next life, for some heaven beyond this present life?
What if God is here? What if God is under our noses, present within our own being, distinctly and separately contained in the loving wisdoms of two unique genders, alive in all the various races, colors, and cultures of people, within sexual orientation and identity, walking by, and also flying past, swimming in rivers and oceans, present in plants and insects - all facets and different aspects of the Universal One?
We seem so convinced that the divine is "out there", distant and foreign, looking down upon us. What if heaven has been waiting for us to bring it to life, right here on earth?
What would heaven be like? Would heaven have a hierarchy of superior and inferior people, or people superior to creatures, birds, fish, insects, plants, forests, oceans, and waters; human beings dominating over life, enslaving, re-engineering, genetically-altering, chemically-poisoning, and monetarily profiting from commodifying, exploiting, abusing, destroying, and killing human life and all of creation, and our own human hearts and souls in the bargain?
When Albert Eisstein was asked, What is the most important question in life, his answer was, "Is the universe a friendly place or not?"
[Hide Full Comment]Chasing and competing (even unto death) for fleeting, dissolving, and false monetary wealth blinds and pits all human beings (wittingly or unwittingly) against one another, and against all of life, and also crushes respect, love, genuine and true affection along the way, in regard to others and all of creation but also for one's self. Are we "making a living", but just existing, and not truly living? Can we compete our way into heaven, disrespecting and commodifying human work populations and all of life? Can we save our planet earth home, and the best in our humanity by disregarding and disrespecting both, in favor of non-lasting monetary rewards that are disappearing as quickly as we claim them, while they take away and destroy our true and lasting common wealth in the natural world of earth, lead us to suppress ground-breaking knowledge in natural processes and life-sustaining innovation, and stand in the way and block our ability to form healthy, respectful, cooperative relationships with one another and with all of creation? Is our existence on this earth nothing more than just a place to compete and win while trampling over others, dominating everyone and all of life, destroying the best of our own humanity and all of creation?
Perhaps the first, and truly most important, question is,
"Is the earth a friendly place or not?"
And, what have we formed it to be?
It has been said by George Simmel, German Sociologist, that money is the purest form of a tool. Since the tool is man made I suggest accounting for inherent worth wherein all possess natural worth.
Another contribution to changing the story.
"We are surrounded by a sea of free energy. Nikola Tesla and Dr. Thomas Henry Moray tried to educate the public to this good and free electromagnetic energy (EM energy) over 80 years ago that can be harnessed with a simple, even homemade, omnidirectional antenna. EM energy is infinitely supplied by our good universe, and it creates zero emissions. All the Egyptian pyramids are antennas, and more modern pyramids within our midst. Solar panels can be redesigned to harness this electromagnetic energy and supply free, unlimited, and carbon-free electrical energy." Get on it. Investigate. The info is out there. We need to reclaim our planetary earth home, if humanity and all of creation deserve a chance at continuing into a future full of abundance, joy, peace, free and good, priceless love and life.
from frenergy
[Tapping into 200 volts positive of free, unlimited and unmetered pure electrical energy]
Thank you for this good and necessary interview with David Korten.
A contribution to changing the story -
The goal is self-sufficiency. We need life skills asap.
Our real needs are actually simple - food, clothing, shelter, and local community connections.
We can all contribute to a new earth by literally beginning to be more and more self-sufficient, learning how to grow, harvest, and preserve our own food at the individual and local community level, planting organic gmo-free gardens, encouraging and supporting the creation of small local organic farms, and farmdens ["a farmden is more than a garden and less than a farm", horticulturist, Lee Reich], local fruit and nut trees and orchards etc, and learning best practices for organic growing and preserving of non-gmo vegetables, fruits, and herbs. Schools and universities could be growing and teaching their students necessary life skills, how to grow and harvest organic, vegetables, herbs, and orchards on their own campuses. We are wasting, actually also polluting chemically, enormous swatches of dead zone land in maintaining pristine-looking lawns, but often poisoned with "cides" that are dangerous to esp. children but also adults, animals, bird, bat, insect life, fish, and local water sources (from the runoff into groundwater or local streams and creeks etc), rather than front, back, and side yards, and common community lands that are contributing to organic food self-sufficiency and engaged with the growing-of-life-itself process. We could also be composting all vegetal and organic plant waste and restoring depleted soils, rather than putting it into garbage disposals and sewers. We could be planting native plants and trees to encourage and contribute to the health and well being of all plant, animal, insect, bird, and fish populations at the individual and local level. And rooftop farms and gardens are one dynamic solution [eg. Brooklyn Grange] enabling city dwellers to also begin the process of becoming food self-sufficient local towns and cities.
We could also be de-constructing archaic and wasteful, unsustainable housing construction, reclaiming the materials, but also restoring the soils and lands, and building our own houses esp. with natural earth and cob-building processes [eg. First Earth movie], passive solar, thermal mass, sustainable energies, revolutionary biotecture techniques [Earthship Biotecture] for heating and cooling, trapping and using rainwater, and treating sewage on site w natural earth knowledge and processes, etc. Very little or no furniture and unspoiled home goods should be going into land fills. All of it, the vast majority could be recycled, redesigned, repainted, reupholstered and re-imagined into new life by local peoples with the know-how and vision to reclaim it. Raw materials could also find new and glorious uses [eg. Wallace Detroit Guitars - Upcycled Guitars Made From Abandoned Homes]. Old doors and windows could be made into garden greenhouses and conservatories "to extend the growing season, and as a shelter for chickens and/ or quail" [from Off Grid World].
I am one generation away from grandparents who did know how to grow and preserve their own food, who had cold cellars on their properties, who knew how to design and sew their own clothes, and build their own houses, and they did it all at the local level. By building and supporting local community and local businesses, local banking or public local banks, we are creating real wealth in self-sufficient and self-sustainable lives, enjoying life and real living, sharing in the joy and abundance of growing and harvesting, and engaged with our neighbors, neighborhoods, and local community. We could become local towns and communities of handbikers, bike trails and bike lanes like Amsterdam in the Netherlands. We could ensure our community has, at least, one dynamic and exciting, welcoming and beautiful public square with native plants and trees etc. where people can gather to talk, engage, sit, stroll, enjoy an ice cream cone, watch and support local street performers entertain, maybe have local-truck businesses that visit, come and go, etc. on Friday night and Saturday like they do in Tuscan Italian towns.
A few decades ago while working together at a community bank, I worked with a co-worker and friend whose mother lived in Greece, and her Greek mother would come every summer to visit her daughter. The two of them would roam the stores looking at clothes they admired. Then, the Greek mother (actually a grandmother) would make the dress, skirt etc patterns herself, and sew the clothes that her daughter, my friend, had admired. Watching the two of them every summer, was ... almost miraculous. That elderly and sophisticated Greek grandmother had true life skills; she was self-sufficient, and it was marvelous. The clothes she sewed for herself and her daughter were absolutely fabulous; they both had THE most gorgeous and unique wardrobes, and it was all created with loving hands and overflowing generosity of heart.
Imagine if we were all so engaged in living, having a wealth of life skills at our fingertips,
[Hide Full Comment]what kind of loving and life-enhancing new earth we could be living, and bring forth?
This "Living Earth' story need to be heard by more people around the world. We are living in a world controlled by greedy big banks and big businesses whose only aim is the big profit! And the rest of the world is mindlessly succumbing to their mantra of materialism - consume, consume AND consume! Lets rethink at individual levels about our way of life and make a concerted effort to resist materialism and go back to a simplistic way of living, caring for the living earth, caring for your families and future generations, caring for the communities we live in.