California, where I live, has been getting a lot of rain. All this water reminds me of a Chinese saying I grew up with: “Water is Money.” I often heard it as a joke, especially when it is raining – all the rain becomes a wish or a symbol of financial abundance. In spoken Cantonese, I also heard people use the word “water” in place of money. Perhaps, we should think of the currency of money like water – it should move and flow. In the summer, I made sure that there are no pools of stagnant water around the house because they will be a breeding environment for mosquitoes and other insects that might carry diseases. When water doesn’t flow, it because opportunities for destructive things to grow. In other words, it turns rotten. I would say the same thing goes for money and resources: when they are not flowing, or when we hold onto them, they turn rotten and become breeding pools for trouble and unsustainability.
There was the same amount of money in existence before and after the recent financial crisis of the United States. Where did the money go? Some people in the financial “industry” had been reaping benefits from the inflated financial transactions for years, but instead of re-circulating the money back into the system, especially back to the investors, they held on to it and stopped the flow. And it turned rotten and it is stinking up the whole country.
The “problem” with Qaddafi in Libya can be understood this way: he, his family and regime, have been reaping the benefits from their oil-rich land for years and they are holding on to the money and resources and not letting them flow back into the people of the land. And the people suffered and are dissatisfied. When resources don’t flow, even a rich country is not sustainable, as we observed the unfolding political “mess” in Libya, which now involves international military interventions.
Qaddafi can resolve this problem in a very simple way: let go of the money, power and resources and share them with the people of Libya. Let the resource flow again and your country will be sustainable politically and financially.
A sustainist does not hold on to power and resources but releases them and shares them so that they can flow like water, interacting with other elements/gifts in the communities, creating “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
I was working with two local churches last week. One of the exercises we did was to make a list of ministries that churches are already doing and another list consisting of places where people gather in the surrounding neighborhood. Teams of church members were asked to randomly pick one item from each list and create an innovative ministry. One team was given “Walmart” on the one hand and “Feeding the Homeless” the other. As we discussed what creative ministries we can create from connecting the two, this idea emerged. Church leaders could go to the management at their local Walmart and make this proposal: Since so many people in our neighborhood shop at Walmart, with all the money that Walmart made, in what ways can Walmart give back to the community? The church would provide concrete ways that Walmart can participate including help for the homeless.
A sustainist community leader pays attention to where the local money and resources go. If resources and money only flow one-way and doesn’t return in any forms back to the community, your community will be not be sustainable. That means someone or some group is holding onto the resource. Follow the money and resources and you will find out whom or what is stopping the flow. And then find ways to challenge the ones that are holding on and invite them to release and re-circulate the resources back into the local community.