loving art, science and creative kids
3/20/2021 7:32:22 PM
Trees communicate through an underground social network known as the wood-wide web. It is where microscopic fungal filaments form links between trees and fungi to act as an economic exchange. They share water and nutrients and send distress signals about drought, disease, and insect attacks. Trees in their network change their behavior when receiving these messages. In exchange, fungi receive sugar that the trees photosynthesize from sunlight. Well-fed fungi scavenge the soil for nitrogen, phosphorus, and other minerals which are absorbed and consumed by the trees.
Social Economy in the Age of Bots
My first child was welcomed into the world when I was 21. By then, I had completed three years at Boston University and was determined to finish the fourth, but wasn't quite sure how to manage an infant, classes, and find time to study. My husband, who had started a doctoral program at MIT, was occupied with high-level courses, thesis concerns, and a teaching position that supported us. Though my parents paid my tuition, we lived frugally on our own. Hiring babysitters was more than we could afford.
Fortunately, a cooperative operating in Cambridge came to our rescue. It was a barter exchange program with points earned depending on how many children you cared for and whether they were awake or asleep. My husband and I took turns sitting for other people's children to make date nights and afternoons at the library reasonable options. Also, I watched a neighbor's daughter each afternoon while she worked, and she took care of my son in the morning while I attended classes. At the end of two years and the birth of a second child, I finally graduated.
I often suggested to young parents that they participate in a babysitting exchange rather than pay $15 an hour for child care. No-one ever took up the idea, but after reading Andrew Yang's Book, The War on Normal People, I was heartened to learn that the concept has legs and a new name, TimeBanking. In an age when computers, robots and artificial intelligence are taking over jobs, we need to imagine another economy, one that will help people survive cutbacks in employment and earnings.
TimeBanking is a barter system where services are exchanged for time-based credit rather than money. You give one hour of service and one-time credit is banked in your account. Neighbors assisting neighbors collect social credit points that can be exchanged for services. Childcare, raking leaves, housekeeping, shopping, handyman assistance, food preparation, driving to doctor's appointments, dog walking, and guided fishing trips are among the ways people earn and use credit. March 23rd is International TimeBanking Day so expect to hear more about the concept.
TimeBanking can be used by organizations, groups, and individuals to increase personal and community well-being. An example of a time-based organization is the Burning Man festival, where neither money (nor accounting) is exchanged. The event is based on the honor system. Attendees come to the even with items to share-food, drinks, sound stages, clothing, water, showers, yoga classes, tarot readings, misting tents, fire dancing, etc.
Individuals tend to join clubs that vary in size from 20 to tens of thousands, according to TimeBanks USA. Edgar Cahn, in his book No More throw-Away People, listed four core values to which he's since added a fifth.
- Asset: every person has something of value to share with someone else.
- Redefining work: Money is not the basis for building strong families, revitalizing neighborhoods, making democracy work, or advancing social justice.
- Reciprocity: I'll help you, you help someone else. The idea is to pay it forward.
- Community/Social Networks: communities can be revitalized through support, strength, and trust. An important task is to create communication networks.
- Respect: Accept where people are in the moment - not where we hope they will be in the future.
TimeBank exchanges track activities, inform members of events, recruit members, and so forth. They've been known to change the way neighborhoods operate by encouraging communication, and how neighbors care for one another. They get to know each other, establish friendships, and offer help through tough times. TimeBank groups gather for potlucks, secure the streets, and plan for emergencies. For those living in Portland, PDX TimeBank is a group that was recently formed. It now has 140 members who have clocked over 5,518 exchanged hours.
Peer-to-peer lending companies, also known as P2P, are an investment deviation operating in the social economy. They conduct business with goals that do not follow typical banking practices and are a way to help entrepreneurs who may not qualify for a bank loan. It is a form of online lending that allows individual investors to work directly with people or businesses seeking loans. Once an application is received by a lending group, software matched lenders with potential borrowers. By cutting out traditional financial institutions like banks, borrowers can access funds more quickly. Investors shoulder the financial risk for the loan though they usually get a healthy return on their investment, depending on the creditworthiness of the borrower. There is always the risk to a lender that the borrower will stop making payments. A few of the more highly rated lending companies are listed below.
Lending Club: for Borrowers With Good Credit (loaned over $55 billion)
Upstart: for Educated Borrowers (more approvals, fewer defaults than banks
Fund Rise: Investing in Real Estate (minimum $500, annual return 8.6 % to 12.4%)
Funding Circle: for Small Businesses And Big Investors
Street Shares: for Established Small Businesses (in business at least a year)
Peerform: No Frills (loan up to $ 25,000 - investors from 16 risk categories.)
Prosper: for Originalists (over $13 billion in loans, 3 to 5-year repayment)
Kiva: Best for Charitable Investors (invest out of the goodness of your heart from $25 to buy a Ugandan farmer chicken seed to a $10,000 interest-free loan.)
A common complaint about social credit systems is that they are an end-run around the legal system. The accused have few rights and no appeal. Mike Elgan of Fast Company calls it "a slippery slope away from democracy and toward corporatocracy." A second grumble is that a barter system is incompatible with our system of taxation. It is difficult to assign value to a person assisting a neighbor. Your neighbor might be able to help clear a clogged pipe and save you the cost of a plumber. Service companies don't like it because it promotes self-reliance rather than hiring their employees to do common household jobs.
I am not sure where social bartering clubs and peer-to-peer lending companies will take the country in the future. Hopefully, they'll make people more compassionate and help them feel less isolated. They might break down large monopolies that control people through ads that cost them billions of dollars. Social bartering clubs may make neighborhoods safer and foster greater respect for those with different backgrounds and skills. I like to think that they'll prick the bubble of anxiety and stress that is mounting throughout the country. Living in isolation, fearing loss of employment to robots, and worrying about becoming ill with no one to care for you, is not healthy. The Age of Bots requires reimagining economic and social structures to take into account the needs of all Americans.Next week I will discuss how social behavior is being manipulated for economic gain.
References:
Markosian, D. (2018) Do Trees Talk To Each Other? Smithsonian Magazine. retrieved from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-whispering-trees-180968084/
Delbridge, E. (2019) The 8 Best Peer-to-Peer Lending Companies oThe Balance. retrieved from https://www.thebalance.com/best-peer-to-peer-lending-companies-4580285
TimeBanks: retrieved from web site https://timebanks.org
Wang, A.(2018) The War on Normal People. Hachette Books. ISBN- 978-0-316-41421-0
Boyle, M. reviewer (2021)What is Time Banking? Investopedia. retrieved from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/time-banking.asp#:~:text=Time%20banking%20is%20a%20bartering,to%20supplement%20government%20social%20services.
Rosenberg, Eric. (2021) What is peer-to-peer lending? credit karma. retrieved from https://www.creditkarma.com/personal-loans/i/peer-to-peer-lending
3/13/2021 1:24:27 PM
Bluebirds Conversing Personal Space
Friendships emerging from COVID
Anais Nin wrote, "Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born." She implies that joy, companionship, and growth come from friends influencing how we experience the world. A colleague once advised me that it takes twenty years to make a friend. The comment seemed extreme, but as I've aged, I've given it more credence. Strong friendships are a critical part of our well-being, but they take nurturing and time to develop.
Zack, the twenty-year-old homeless boy I write about in Over the Peanut Fence, made street-friends instantly. After spending a few hours with a new arrival, he would call the youth a friend, an indication that he was open to knowing the person better. Over the following weeks, the relationship was tested by observing the youth's willingness to share his limited resources. If he had cigarettes, he was expected to offer some to his friends. If she pulled in ten dollars begging, she bought the pizza and gave her friends a slice. When the person was known as someone willing to share, he or she was valued and could expect to receive favors and help in return.
Loyalty grows quickly in an environment where individuals share experiences and hardships. Hearing other people's stories helps homeless youth realize they are not the only ones to have suffered. Street-friends help them take small steps towards trusting people again. If caught stealing, the youth will take all of the blame, never tattling on friends involved in a hoist. Though these relationships develop quickly, they are lost equally as fast. Those who choose to leave drugs behind or decide to return to school, for instance, have moved on to a lifestyle that no longer supports the habits of former acquaintances. Rather than lose their friends' trust, they disappear.
Children tend to make friends easily. School, camp, clubs, and sports teams where time is spent with people their age, spurs fast friendships. Adults, unfortunately, find it more difficult to create enduring relationships. They don't happen automatically as they did when in school unless put in situations where they have to depend on one another, as in the military. For adult intimacy to deepen, it requires intention, time, and effort. Though progress may be slower, growing acquaintances is a similar process to the one homeless youth experience. It involves giving something of yourself before you can expect something in return.
Strong friendships are built on a foundation of sharing, honesty, and trust. Rock climbers and combat soldiers have to trust one another for their lives depend on it. That is not the case in most situations, but it is in some. If a person becomes ill, divorced, traumatized, or elderly their survival often depends on the willingness of a friend to help out.
Research presented in Psychology Today shows that friendships have mental and physical benefits that contribute to self-esteem, greater happiness, a sense of purpose, lower blood pressure, and a longer life span. A University of North Carolina study concluded that having numerous friendships is most beneficial during adolescence and old age. Middle-aged people are less affected by the number of friends they are connected to but more concerned by whether the relationships they do maintain provide support or add strain. My relationships over time fit into their pattern.
As a child, a college student, and a young adult I had lots of friends and enjoyed doing things with them. When a young parent, my husband and I expanded our friendship circle to include couples raising children. By middle age, when deeply involved in the work and care of older children, I spent less time nurturing friendships. The dinner parties and events I gave and attended were often related to work. Those I called friends were likely to be colleagues, board members, and professional contacts.
When leaving a position as president of an organization it is customary to leave work-friendships behind to let the new president bond with the staff and board. No one wants to take the helm with a shadow director over their shoulders saying the old way was better than the new.
Friendless when leaving OMSI, I started the Museum Tour Catalog, imagining things would be different when the business sold and I retired. That was not the case, for the purchaser asked the staff not to socialize with me. To build close relationships anew, I had to proceed with intention and patience. I took pottery classes, socialized after exercising, became a lay minister, and talked to neighbors strolling by the house. Arranging for walks and luncheons with friends I hadn't seen for years required effort. It took several years to deepen these relationships, but the process was worthwhile. I slowly developed a circle of friends I could call on when needed and committed myself to do the same for them. When COVID-19 burst on the scene, however, it inhibited my traditional ways of interacting.
Studies show that during the pandemic younger more than older adults reported their friendships had suffered. Though elderly individuals expressed loneliness, younger adults and those less educated were hit harder. Men's friendships suffered more than women's because of the way they tend to interact with friends. In general, men enjoy doing things together like watching or playing sports. When together, they stick to concrete subjects while women communicate emotions more directly when conversing. These are stereotypes for sure, but Psychologist, Dr. L. Denworth claims they are based on cultural and biological truths.
During the pandemic, people came to view friends as a source of risk rather than as a way to manage it. Instead of going to a friend's house to ask for help or get advice during the crisis, we spoke through masks and computer screens. We couldn't hug or comfort friends who were ill or lost a loved one or do the many little things that demonstrate to your friend that he or she is valued. Young people, especially, felt guilty for putting friends and family members at risk. Elders found it easier to slip into loneliness than find ways to make new friends.
There are exceptions, of course, for there are those who were determined to nurture their relationships through the pandemic. When they saw a serious need, they stepped up by leaving food on doorsteps, shopped for friends unable to do so, and called to find out how they were faring. Friends and relatives stayed connected as best they could through Zoom. They joined book clubs, writing groups, and gaming associations. Unfortunately, we have a society that values individualism. Determined to remain self-reliant, many find it difficult to ask for help though most friends willingly respond. It is the back-and-forth give-and-take that builds bonds.
As we heal from a year of isolation, it will take determination and time to rebuild relationships. For some, it will be as difficult to resume face-to-face interactions as it was to pull back from them during the pandemic. We are creatures of habit and find it hard to change. In the long run, to stay healthy, it will be worth bursting the bubble we were forced to be in. Re-establishing friendships requires us to emerge from our cocoons and let people know how we evolved over the past year before we can fly with confidence into the future.
References:
Franco, M. (2019) 5 Skills for Making Friends as an Adult. Psychology Today. retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/platonic-love/201909/5-skills-making-friends-adult
Denworth, L. (2021) How Friendship Has Changed in the Pandemic. Psychology Today. retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brain-waves/202102/how-friendship-has-changed-in-the-pandemic
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Arti is always for sale. Contact me at [email protected]
Western Bluebirds / acrylic on canvas / 20.5 x 24.5/ framed / $375
Personal Space / acrylic on deep canvas /16” by 20” / $299
3/3/2021 2:20:58 PM
EVA by Marilynne Eichinger
She stares into space and cries, wondering if she will ever be happy again.
Heartbreak to Hope
Today I write to you as a proud mother. My daughter’s first book of poetry, Heartbreak to Hope, was just published and is currently for sale on Amazon, arriving in bookstores in a few weeks. Her writings are certainly needed in a time when people throughout the country are grieving. The book promises to be well received.
Kara Bowman is a grief therapist who aides clients in their struggle with emotional disruption due to loss of every imaginable kind. She writes from the heart, having survived personal grief as well as having walked along the path with hundreds of people as they fashioned a way out of darkness. “When feeling desperate, clients wonder if things will ever get better,” Kara says. “The most important thing to know is that grief is not something we need to do; it is something we simply need to allow. If we feel our feelings without judgment, bathed in self-compassion and the compassion of others, the sharp edges will soften with time.”
The following poems are 4 out of 55, representing journeys taken over the course of healing. The poems are organized by common reactions.
ACT ONE
The Surreal
Everything is the same,
but nothing is familiar.
I am plucked from the life I am living,
And ushered into another world entirely.
Not knowing the rules,
not understanding how things function,
not knowing what to do.
I am in uncharted territory because
just as every person is unique,
every grief is unique, too.
Nobody knows how to act,
what to say,
and when to say nothing in this bizarre world.
There are strange forms to fill out
and equipment to return
and clothing to sort through
and estates to settle.
Nobody asked for this existence and nobody wants it.
And yet, here I am,
in this world without a solid ground,
in this world where things keep moving,
in this world with new places, like the mortuary,
and new tasks, like writing an obituary.
The people are different and weird.
Not the same ones as before.
They talk about donating organs.
And bring Yule logs in July.
And ask about power of attorney.
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ACT TWO
The Wind
The wind is calm but relentless.
It picks up leaves and swirls them around lazily.
They tumble in the air, every which way.
The tree branches shake, slightly but steadily.
The grass blades tremble, ceding to the wind.
The birds silently adjust their flight to acknowledge the force of nature.
The bushes dance indifferently, unable to resist.
My Phone
My phone doesn’t ping
with the joke that was just between us
and the small doses of love
you gave me all throughout the day.
My heart still jumps a bit
every time I hear the chime
hoping, thinking
it might be you.
But then I remember,
and the dismay washes through me,
because it will never be you again.
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ACT THREE
The Story
So this is how the story ends.
I had no idea.
I tried to peer forward,
but could not see.
How many times did I wonder?
How many times did I torture myself trying to figure it out?
Even though I could not know.
But now I know.
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Heartbreak to Hope is currently available online at Amazon for $19.60 and in bookstores nationally in a few weeks.
Art is always for sale. Eva is 40" by 30" acrylic painting/ $599 - for arrangements contact me at [email protected]
