Reframing The Current Financial Crisis – Will You Get Swept Away In The Storm

The World Is Going To End?

When you are bombarded with information scaring you into believing the world is going to end, are you going to accept it blindly?, do you ever question It’s source ?, can you assess the fact from the fiction? In who’s hands is the real power to change the world? Can we as global citizens bear any responsibility or are we just innocent pawns to be sacrificed in a much bigger game?

Out In The Desert

I would like to tell you a story about a time I was caught in a flash flood and witnessed a disaster turn into something beautiful

Years ago when I was on my world travels  l  attended a festival  in the Negev desert, about 100km south of the Dead sea in Israel

Deep Division And Conflict

There were maybe 1500 people there, all camping out and living in a temporary community in  an inhospitable environment. All our water came in by tanker and we all had to get used to a very different way of life. It was a spiritually oriented festival and there were people there  from all backgrounds and religions. The camp had a lot of organisational problems and there was constant  arguing and negativity and the deep divisions between the different groups of people were brought to the surface. Some of the orthodox Jews took offence when more liberal minded  people wanted to wander around naked. You can  probably  imagine the conflicts in the kitchen with everyone’s particular food issues coming out.  What was supposed to be an experiment in tolerance and religious openness turned into different groups wanting to impose their belief systems on each other.

The camp was set in the desert and the only flat land suitable to camp on was in the valley of a dry river valley. Desert Waddi’s  are notorious for violent flash floods and we were in constant communication with the National Park Rangers who were keeping us informed about potential dangers.

A Warning

A week into the camp we received a warning that it had been raining in the mountains 50 km away and that we were in potential  jeopardy. The camp organisers went around telling everyone but as it was a beautiful sunny  day no one paid any attention. Most of the people came from the city and were not aware of the risk  or thought it was just another false alarm.

Not A Cloud In Sight?

I had a prophetic  dream the night before showing me the coming  flood.   I heeded the warning and  decided to move my tent.  My nearest neighbour was laughing at me saying  that there was no chance it was going to rain, the sky was a clear blue and there was not a cloud in sight, I moved my tent anyway despite her derision.

A Raging Torrent

Half an hour later  the first  trickle of water arrived in the camp. Those who knew what was coming quickly rushed to the car park and moved their vehicles. The majority just ignored the water and carried on with their normal activities.  Another 10 minutes passed and the trickle  turned into a small stream which rapidly grew into a  raging torrent 40 metres wide ripping  through the centre of the camp sweeping  away personal belongings,   tents, sleeping bags and air mattress.

Assessing The Damage

It was a miracle that no one was killed and an hour later after the flood was  over   we began to assess the damage. This apparent disaster brought the community together. Half the kitchen was swept away and  many people had lost everything but the spirits were  high, there was a joy and lightness that spread through  the camp there was no more arguing or religious debates and everyone pulled together to clean up the mess and rebuild the camps  infrastructure.

Being  in the Holy  Land that had seen so much conflict and bloodshed and in  the very place where prophets had gone to seek their enlightenment my heart was touched by the changes that occurred.  People putting aside their beliefs and differences  to solve a collective problem.

It’s A Wonderful Life

The Current world  financial situation has some interesting  parallels,  it’s not like there haven’t been enough warnings. Anyone who has tracked the price of gold for the past year will know that the people who understand the problems have little faith in  the value of paper money.

Those who moved their vehicles out of the way or re-pitched their tents on higher ground will come out relatively unscathed but will still have to live in the same communities with those who might lose everything. If you have ever seen the film “It’s a Wonderful Life” you will remember how unstable things can be when people lose confidence in their banks and how unscrupulous people take advantage and even engineer such situations in order to profit. The moral of this story was the same, when the hero was faced with apparent disaster  the community came together to help.

Timing And Terminology

I don’t buy into the fear mongering  and panic  that is currently being propagated by the worlds media. I do  believe we are in the midst of  a massive flood but  we have a choice how we handle apparent disasters such as this.  I only have to look at the timing in regards to the American Presidential Election and the  terminology they are using to recognise there is some serious negative branding and manipulation taking place.

Market Confidence

The world’s financial system is run on market  confidence, The money we spend is not real it is just a printed promise that there is gold in the bank to back up our pieces of paper. Governments and banks  can’t keep printing more money or lending money they don’t have. The buck has to stop somewhere and  when a crisis like this is reached a rebalancing has to take place.

What Do You Focus Your Attention On

When Rome was in flames I wonder if the citizens were thinking about their once great empire or were more concerned about getting out of the current situation alive, and protecting their community and loved ones.  Did they have any  leaders they could trust and rely on or were they merely pawns in a much larger game? Are we seeing the first flames that will engulf a global economic empire that might then plunge us back into a dark age or is it a localised fluctuation,  a shift in regional balances of power?

An Environmental Perspective

Reality can sometimes be hard to face and from an environmental perspective  any country that consumes most of the world resources and blatantly  pollutes the atmosphere in order to maintain  a high standard of living for its privileged citizens is  going to face some  kind of checking mechanism at some point.

The Media Shapes Our Beliefs And Attitudes

In our modern world this  next episode  will be documented and live for all to watch on their TV and computer screens . How many people actually realise that a lot of the problems stem for mass media shaping our belief systems  and lifestyles in the first place, It’s the hedonistic  consume now pay later lifestyle that has been fuelling  much of our modern economy.  Its not a sustainable  model and the sooner people wake up to this fact the better.

Faith In Our Leaders?

I have little faith in our global leaders to handle these problems, they are like bickering children who never listen to each other  and  organised like  street gangs that defend their own neighbourhoods using fear and violence. Killing each other to have control of the black liquid  drug that keeps them from going cold turkey.

Reframe A Crisis Into An Opportunity

I think the solutions will  be found in the global communities that are now  emerging,  visionary thinkers and enlightened leaders are needed who can see beyond the immediate problems and reframe a crisis into an opportunity.

Our Survival As A Species

We have a chance to do things in the right way. One that respects the interconnectedness of our  global system on all levels and places  our   survival as a species in a more realistic framework and timescale. If we are forced to live out the Malthusian model then war and famine will be resulting checking mechanisms.

An Economic War Fought On  A Global Spreadsheet

An Economic war can be just a painful and devastating  as one fought with guns and bombs. Few places in the world won’t be touched by the resulting shock waves.  These shockwaves will  be caused by a few blips on a computer screen as the Politicians and economists  adjust the numbers on a  global economic spreadsheet so their figures match up.  When you  cook  the books eventually the  auditors will come knocking and demand you pay your taxes.

Don’t Buy Into The Panic

We don’t need to buy into the panic and amplify it any more than is necessary. The real problems are  rooted  in our minds and this is where we each have a personal responsibility to end the conflict. A world controlled and ruled by religious fanatics of whatever denomination is always going to be a poisoned world.  Some worship  money while others worship the distorted words of middle eastern prophets but all seem to want to impose their beliefs on each other  and are convinced of their own righteousness.

You Have  A Choice

I know deep  in my heart that each of us has a choice what type of world we will live in . We are all connected,  our ancestors  come from the same mother,   we all breath the same atmosphere,  we all  drink the same water , we all walk on the same earth that gets its life and energy from the same sun that shines

Please Comment

I welcome your  comments and ideas on this topic  and any visionary insights  you can offer. The reason I ask you to comment is just to acknowledge that you have read my words.  A blank and empty space is as much  appreciated  as a long reply. I hope that in this apparent disaster I have done my bit to bring the community together.

For those who would like to read some of touching comments my friends have written on Facebook you can follow this link – Click here to read the comments on my Facebook Notes

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