Ashley Mwanza
You feel we have hit an iceberg? Well there is a much bigger iceberg ahead and a fear of how much more lies unseen below the surface. Each day, new evidence continues to sprout.
The now crumbling financial system is based on a world view that puts the surface first and the essence last. Money – the surface symbol of power, safety and value- has been supremely important and all efforts have been directed toward creating more of it. Human beings have pursued material wealth with a passion that speaks of a deep longing for fulfilment.
Life, in its kindness, has brought us change. Those who have accumulated wealth are now invited to discover the illusory nature of money and its pleasures. Those who have stayed in poverty are now invited to find out how long they are willing to remain in powerlessness. We are all invited to look beyond the surface and see how we have created the situation.
“I think it’s going to get a lot worse.” Once again, it is possible to survey the headlines, and yet again the headlines show that there is no real recognition of the underlying cause of this crisis. In amongst the headlines it is possible to differentiate a central feature of the reaction to the crisis - outright panic!
There is no other way: the financial crisis is global, therefore, the solutions should be global. Things would not be resolved just by the United States, even if the financial Tsunami began over there.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel put it well in perspective when she said, “the central task of politicians now is to restore the ability of markets to function, thereby creating a new trust, on a sounder footing.” Merkel called on a new set of rules and overhaul of the global financial system and the adoption of a post-crisis charter for a global economic order.
Crises are also opportunities: the opportunity to do things better. We can argue a fine point that the banks did us a great injustice but for our learned friends didn’t they know the ripple effects of been deceived by the banks, where were the politicians and the regulators? Its too late for that rather we should be focusing on how to reverse this catastrophe. Politically some are on the edge, no names mentioned.
Globalization joined the world in an unprecedented way during the last decades. On globalization is settled also the bases of this global crisis. On globalization must be settled the solutions. The world is already a village: the crisis taught us.
Movements cannot be just spectators of their own future; they must be active actors of their own development. Both short and long term solutions to the multiple crises, affecting mainly those who have less, can only come from the understanding of their needs and proposals.
Individual national economies cannot escape the world crisis in isolation.
The fact is that mainstream economists and many politicians have no sure way of dealing with the crisis. Economic chaos is built into the very system they are fighting to defend. This will take each and every one of us to right this wrong.
Recessions are healthy they keep all of us on our toes. Will it come to pass? I can give you a definitive answer. Yes, it will; I am full of confidence.
But, our financial institutions’ first impulse in the present global financial crisis that of loaning money is not the solution, this only seeks to cover the deficit and tries to preserve the status quo. But applying a patch over a wound is not the same as healing it. My hope is that we will discover the real solution- a change in consciousness.
In short, what is happening is that our prayers are finally answered. What we need to do about it is get real.
Allow me to explain…
Be honest with me, really honest. Aren’t you tired of the world we have created together? How many times have you changed TV channel looking for something other than images of greed, ruthlessness, killing and poverty? How many times have you had to close your heart lately because of your own or someone else’s cruelty? How many times have you wished this world was a more peaceful and kind place to live in?
Even if you haven’t heard your own prayer, life has. Believe it or not, life is always answering our deepest prayers. We all want another world, and so, what is happening is that our old reality is crumbling. It has to, in order to allow something else to emerge.
Our world is a reflection of who we are. If we get radically honest with ourselves, we will understand how we have created it. We have prioritized the surface and forgotten the essence.
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