Trapeze Artist

“When you are going through hell, keep going” advised Winston Churchill. Running a small business requires the courage and timing of a trapeze artist to keep all the gears synchronously shifting.

In the frenzy before the collapse, we thought that major banks and corporations were too big to fail. The Titanic was thought too big to sink. As the smoke of the economic collapse clears, we are reminded again that only death and taxes remain certain.

This is a scary moment in history all right – our big opportunity to tip forward to the light or backward to  the dark. Given the millions worldwide who meditate, practice yoga and the martial arts, garden, knit, fish, run, bicycle and countless other grounding activities, we have a good shot at choosing light and coming through this breathtaking, nail biting period more conscious, present, and whole.

It is surreal, seeing the economy melt right before our eyes, and we haven’t seen the last of it. California, the  world’s eighth largest economy, is paying in IOU’s, rather than cash.  What is it like to live in a state with insufficient revenue to adequately fund its basic obligations? Is California the canary in the coal mine?

One thing is clear: the sooner we learn to rely on each other in tangible, reliable ways the faster and better we will move beyond this economic wreck. Take cars, for example. Have you thought of selling your car but hesitate because it’s paid for, “runs good” and who wants to sell in this terrible market anyway? A high-functioning, reliable community could share a car, providing that the rules and operating agreements are scrupulously followed. Whether sharing cars or looking after an elderly person or a child, high-functioning communities make trapeze swinging a whole lot easier.