The great recession, as its been called, has the 12% unemployed in California jockeying for a competitive advantage; small business owners have to make those painful choices of who will stay on the payroll, while they take whatever work is rewarded regardless of conditions. Too much bad news can cause a person to feel like nothing more than a pawn in a game controlled by somebody else.
Understanding that there is a cyclical nature to our economy can be hard to remember when these holidays of consumption roll toward us, but gratitude for the opportunity to connect with others puts things in perspective.
At a party I attended Saturday evening, a gentlemen that had my ear during dinner reminded me that every conversation is an opportunity. So many of us who read blogs about environmental protection and preservation have a shared belief that it is only through collaborative effort that momentous change can occur. Those conversations that have happened or have yet to will be the force that moves our sustainability goals forward.
As my former professor Robert Reich reminded me last week, we, the educated, innovative, thinkers will have a place when capital flows back into the system, until then, “be patient.”
Lisa Goddard
