Friday, October 10, 2008
"It was time to redefine the word 'riches.'"
That could be the first line of an autobiography of some Wall Street titan who begins to realize, post crash, that money was not the be all and end all in life. (Somehow those realizations don't usually happen when the money is flowing in.)
Its first chapter was titled, "Time to stop and smell the roses," because you see, he wasn't a great writer, but his story had to be told anyway. And the story from there was quite predictable, except that along with the simple life bringing him contentment, this realization transformed him into an environmentalist who was a model for his community, which then became healthier and happier too. The world was so in need of happy endings at that time, that the book was published (after much help from an anxious editor), was translated into many languages, and became an international bestseller.
The word "economics" is derived from roots meaning household management or stewardship. And so it was that the world, along with our hero, after its era of huge economic growth, business ethics that were at times questionable or entirely lacking, great waste of natural resources and pollution therefrom, returned to its economic and ecological roots and nourished them. People realized the benefits of living lightly on this great planet Earth. They found that using fewer resources and practicing good economic and ecological stewardship was truly better for everyone, people and animals too.
The End (Beginning).