Wealth and Community...

In this time of political tension with the changing of the guard in the American Presidency I feel a great desire to set it aside and consider what really matters; Wealth. Financial experts would claim that the true definition of wealth is " having sufficiant assets that would sustain you indefinately at your current lifestyle". Nice, but...

Let's bring it a little closer to our humble real lives. Wealth may alternatively be defined as, " The means to survive on ones own sufficiant to maintain safety, welfare and Joy indefinately ". I would be remiss to ignore financial security. But what if everything around our community collapsed and all we had was each other? History repeats itself, and even the most prostperous nations go through dark times and people suffer. Take the great land of Russia, once (albiet communist) a great 1st world nation, now a country full of poverty and saddness. The Great Depression in the US in the 20's, etc...

What if we started taking an attitude of Old America. The time when we had gardens, and those who didn't shared with neighbors who in turn would mend their fence. A time when the town doctor made a living through barter; heck a childbirth may fetch two chickens, a gallon of milk and a dozen eggs! The days when we met and got to know people and found security of like minded people. The days when late life care of the elderly was always assisted by friends and neighbors.

Today life is not agriculture based, and truly not all of us can find what we need locally. But imagine saving some gas money so that you could pay a little more to a LOCAL vendor, and by getting to know that person may inspire them to use your business or services. It was my discovery of a person with those beleifs that brought me to participate in the Plateu community, and as a result I found part time work in this here, consequently I spend money around town. I live in a nearby area where I pass on the same habits to shop the local hardware store, rather than the big box, I give away eggs and produce to neighbors. I do this all to gain the wealth of self sustainability, and community sustainatbility.

This could be a turn for the future to return to those old ways, tried and true. Just like any insurance policy, we may never have to use it for it's ultimate purpose in a catastrophe', but the peace of mind, and the goodness of it all will pay dividends and make us all "rich beyond our dreams."

Brian M. Dotson