the end of the beginning

today i graduate from the permaculture design certification course. henceforward i shall be a certified permaculture designer, a member of an international community of earth regeneration crusaders, participants in creating a sustainable community of human beings on this earth, living in harmony with all life. i am now certified to teach this course, in theory although i have a lot more to learn before i get to that point. this course has completely changed my life. it has realigned my career goals (i know envision starting a permaculture design consulting business in some form), it has given me a whole new support community, and, perhaps most importantly, the philosophy of permaculture as well as an incredibly powerful session on financial permaculture have given me a path towards negotiating a new relationship with money and finances. for a long time now, i have been really resentful of money and its effects in the modern world. i see so clearly the damage and destruction wrought by international corporate capitalism, and i carry a lot of anger and pain because of it. this has caused me to reject money, and business, to the point where i hate keeping track of my bank records, i never looked at the stocks my grandmother bought me, and i have always resented the necessity of getting a job. as silly as these things may sound, they are very real, and are experienced by a lot of people my age, highly conscious people who see the reality of the evil created by capitalism. permaculture, however, teaches us that the problem is the solution, and this provides a brilliant way out of this dilemna. money, after all, is not evil, its misuse, its concentration and stagnation is evil. Bill mollison, the originator of permaculture, describes money as being similar to shit. if all the shit is concentrated in one place and left there, not composted and redistributed throughout the land but accumulated and unused, then it is a health hazard, a breeding ground for disease, but if it is properly use then it revitalizes and regenerates the landscape. our challenge, then, is not to get away from money altogether, but to find ways to redistribute it to help it flow, and to act as conduits through which to flow money to earth regeneration activities throughout the world. there are tons of exciting tools we can use to do this, such as local currencies, mutual credit systems, and micro loans. if youre interested, go to claimyourchange.org and solari.com. from these two weeks, i have an enormous amount of information that i would like to share with all my loved ones, friends and family. i will set up an event to do that when i get back. till then, so much love, i cant wait to be with you in person. stay healthy and happy and send me your love.