"It seems to be easier for us today to imagine the thoroughgoing deterioration of the earth and of nature than the breakdown of late capitalism; perhaps that is due to some weakness in our imagination."
– Frederic Jameson
Hi friends.
I wanted to quickly share a recent thought with you. I’ll jump right in…
We absolutely should solve for the ecological destruction wrought by the linear material economy. But we should also solve for the spiritual destruction wrought by the linear meaning economy – the sociocultural beliefs that are passed down and around regarding how and where one finds their identity, their sense of worth and value, and the conditions for belonging.
Who we believe we are ultimately determines how we relate to the world. Our creating, our consuming, and our coping are inextricably linked.
Business leaders – bring your spirituality to your work, create and hold space for grief and uncomfortable messy emotions, let people make mistakes and learn from them, figure out your attachment style and invest in being emotionally healthy, understand the concept of transference and identify where you project past relationships onto people you work with, get comfortable with your thoughts by practicing still silence, lean into mystic wisdom traditions like the Enneagram and Human Design, identify the ways you connect to nature and practice that connection, be aware of your wounds and traumas, and understand how they effect you.
This is a very short list of things to do, but could also be overwhelming. Many of us are so buried by responsibility and obligation. If this is the case for you, the first step is merely to be curious about yourself. Before you fall asleep each night, ask yourself "what did I learn about me today?" If you were going to pick up one very short book (~100 pages) related to this conversation, I would suggest "Living an Examined Life" by James Hollis.
If you would like to continue this conversation and learn more about what this may look like for you in your context, don't hesitate to reach out.
– Joel