Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash
Course: Economics of Community Building 2023
Faculty Mentor: Jean Parker
Taking the course Economics of Community Building gave me confidence in being able to talk about spiritual concepts and how they truly do influence societal happiness and prosperity. Before taking the course, I felt like I’d be easily defeated in a discussion on these topics.
I am also very excited to be a part of this incredible world community that is pursuing social transformation in such a beautiful way. Reading other students’ posts was wonderful, to see how each person approaches the same concepts and how they apply them.
I’ve acquired a better sense of the “mechanics” of how spirituality and material prosperity fit together, and I feel like I can explain it to someone who doesn’t believe in “such things.” This is actually huge.
I have experienced so many new feelings and attitudes, it’s hard to list them all. I better understand why the current economic structures are dysfunctional and how, going forward, social transformation has to be a product of the efforts of the individual, communities, and also through governments and legislation. Just one of these is insufficient.
I’ve come to appreciate Ḥuqúqu’lláh more, as well as the storehouse model. These are great talking points in conversations to share how these simple but powerful mechanisms can rebalance wealth and build resilience.
I realized, once again, how love is the foundation and fix for everything in the end. Love powers unity and justice. Love will motivate sustainable practices.
I think I’d been quite influenced by the materialistic mindset. While the material goal is important, equally important is how we get there and whether we build love and capacity along the way. This became much clearer, and I’m confident that shifting the emphasis matters.
Since completing the course, I can converse more easily about how spiritual principles matter as we strive for global prosperity. I feel more tuned in to some specifics of the Nine Year Plan as well, and how I can be more aligned with them, both in local day-to-day life and in remote work and project life.
Now that the course has ended, I’m working on shifting my outlook and behaviors; becoming more attuned to what “economics” means and how it relates to community building; and reflecting on what we can do locally. I’m also starting to apply some of the principles, concepts, and attitudes to work.
I am also thinking about how to nudge behaviors in a good direction through the design of our software tools. For example, our startup will enable people from everywhere to monetize their “samples and stems” from their music. One of the tools will be an income splitter, with a template to split 19% of it to a betterment project. It’s a small thing, but in our explanation of why this is different from “rounding up for charity,” I hope that it can make a small difference.
