Conversation with Mum re heading to Tokyo for the wedding just recently - we had just been talking about places we wanted to go, and how much they might cost…

Mum: Oh, and your stimulus payment should come through in April! Working people are getting it April and families get it in March.
Me: Well, thats good timing, but I think we were supposed to spend that here in Australia, on local stuff….
Mum: It doesn’t matter what we spend it on, and Japan’s economy needs help too!

Here, Japan; accept this small offering of financial aid from the Australian Government.

I really like the idea of receiving nearly $1000 for nothing, but bigger picture looks bad to me. In my mind, we are just shovelling money down the throat of a very large tapeworm somewhere in the bowels of the economy; a worm that is much, much larger than it actually needs to be at this point in time, and at a rate which we cannot sustain.

These days we have a much better understanding of the wider repercussions of our culture of consumption, and what all this production and dumping is doing to the planet, and yet we are still so unwilling to deal with any of the changes required to adapt to it, particularly at a governmental/policy level. As Public Opinion points out, the governmental stance is to downplay the crisis as much as possible, and dither and make concessions on emissions trading schemes and other such environmental platforms as soon as the spectre of job losses is raised.

I read a great story today, one that fits the situation very well:

On the journey to finding “success” a man comes to a fork in the road. At the fork he meets a Guru. The man asks, “Which way to success?” The Guru doesn’t speak, but points to one of the roads. The man goes up the road and hits a big bump and splat…he falls down. He decides he is going in the wrong direction and goes back down the road to find the Guru. He asks the Guru, “Is this the way to success because I hit a big bump?” The Guru doesn’t speak and just points again to the same road again. The man goes up the road again, gets a little further this time only to get hit by a car and SPLAT, he falls down. He’s injured and bleeding and decides he must be on the wrong road, so he goes back down the road to find the Guru again. This time he asks the Guru, “Is this the right road to success, becuase I am injured and bleeding!” He says to the Guru, “Please speak, don’t just point.” Finally, the guru speaks…the guru says, “That is in fact the right road you are on, success is just past SPLAT!”

For me, the SPLAT part looks pretty inevitable, and the earlier we do it, the less toxins and environmental damage we have to deal with afterwards.

• The Goddess (At the office) said on 09/02/23 at 11:29 PM.....

  The splat example kinda bothers me…  why does the guy need to be told again and again.  If he comes up against an obstacle he should be prepared to figure it out himself a solution rather than keep running back for assurance.  He has been told which way to go, but he still wants to be hand fed the entire way.  Adults need to take some personal responsibility and also take some personal risks rather than looking for somebody else to do everything for them.

  Just my two yen.

• felix (new york!) said on 09/02/25 at 08:13 AM.....

  I just saw an amazing amazing video that relates to your Guru parable:  http://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_on_our_loss_of_wisdom.html

  To T.‘s point, Barry Schwartz makes a case for practical wisdom, and why institutions and governments are failing in terms of producing better people and human beings.  It’s not just about incentives and rules!

  If you have 20 mins., this bit is well worth it.