Sunset in the Woods Out Back
Your vision will become clear only when you look inside your own heart. … Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes. Carl Jung
What is your vision for our world? For humanity? For the planet on whose health we depend? Do you envision a world of peace? Of prosperity? Of social and economic justice? Do you envision, as I do, humanity learning to thrive in cooperation with one another and with Mother Earth? This is the future I want for my grandchildren, indeed for ALL the children around the globe and for future generations.
I found Jung’s familiar quote in a wonderful little book of large ideas and possibilities, Integrating Money and Meaning by Maggie Kulyk, a theologian turned financial advisor (https://chicorywealth.com/). She tells the story of a pivotal question asked by her 11-year-old daughter as she was researching possible stock trades to “make a little extra money”. Maggie recall her daughter wondering “if it bothered me that the way I was making money had no meaningful social purpose”.
The youngster’s awareness and questioning reminded me of a question my young stepson asked me once: “if you’re so interested in being healthy, how come you smoke?”. Wisdom often cuts to the core and James Michael’s question invited me to acknowledge that my choice to smoke was not in alignment with valuing my health. (I quit sometime soon thereafter.)
The wisdom of youth often sees those places where our choices, our words, our actions are not aligned with what we say that we believe and what we want for ourselves and our world. Bless them for their voices. When we are willing to look inside, question ourselves with courage, and listen, we are likely to hear an inner voice that, like the children, points us to opportunities for realignment. May we hear and consider the wisdom of both.
Doing so in the financial arena has been an area of interest for a long while. Over a year ago, I began to ask the question: how can I do greater good with the money in my IRAs while also growing and protecting it for my later years? My small nest egg had been invested in ‘socially responsible’ funds for years, but I was curious: what else is possible?
What about you? Are you willing to ask: What is my money doing in the world? What are my investments contributing to? What are the practices of the companies I invest in? Is my money in alignment with my values? What adjustments am I willing and able to make?
In asking such questions, I’ve discovered a number of resources and possibilities that I want to share this week in celebration of Earth Day:
Watch the story of Marco Vangelisti’s journey from investment banking to a commitment to “aware and no harm investing” (https://ek4t.com/marco-vangelisti/). If this theme resonates and you want to learn and act on more, I highly recommend Marco’s website resources and his classes.
Wake yourself up to the cost of investing solely for the sake of wealth accumulation and see how RSF Financial supports community building (https://moneytransforms.com/).
What about investing in underserved communities to create an economy that works better for all: (https://www.mycnote.com/). [Small Print/Disclamer: I’m providing these resources for you to check out and, if interested, do your own due diligence.]
Humanity is at a pivotal point. Examining our money, including why and where we invest, and our values can lead us to make personal pivots that are not only good for us, but also for our communities and the planet.
A Place for Going Within - Labyrinth in the Woods Out Back