I’ve nicked a story about the late/great Joseph Heller (Catch 22) – being told that his hedge fund host at a party, had made more money in a day than Heller had ever made from writing Catch 22. “Yes”, said Heller, “but I have something he will never have – enough”. Having ‘enough’ has nothing to do with levels of wealth or anything else; it’s ‘internal’ – an orientation of the psyche/soul; the Latin word for ‘enough’ is ‘satis’ – as in satisfied. Although I’m not consciously on any spiritual path to ‘awakening’ – I was getting frequent visits from ‘satis’. These visits have stopped – and I blame the virus.
It wouldn’t surprise me if I’ve already had Covid 19 – but my grasp of reality is not reliable just now; just as likely that anxiety is fuelling my imagination. Is this level of dizziness and confusion normal for my age – or are these quarantine symptoms? In Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, I’ve tumbled from Level 5 (creative fulfilment) down to the fear and fitfulness of Level 2; no wonder ‘satis’ no longer visits.
The nearest I get to composure these days is in the garden – grounded in the rhythms of nature; neuroscience tells us that the brain has its own ‘gardener cells’, whereby troubled minds can reconnect to themselves. I proudly grew sweet peas from seed this year – but despite two full vases in my cottage, I can’t detect any scent – which, of course, is a symptom of Covid…..For heaven’s sake, Laurence – will you give it a rest.
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Of the Chancellor’s announcements on Wednesday, his Kickstart Job Creation Programme for young people was of particular interest – with some deja-vu. Those of us with memories, from the early 1980s, of adapting the Manpower Services Commission youth training projects to the needs of local communities – know that there are lessons from that era (many captured in this Fabian Society pamphlet from Sept 1985). I predict a resistance from established employers to the hassle of creating new Kickstart jobs – which could leave more opportunities for the empowerment of our community sector. I hope someone, somewhere, is scoping the possibilities, and formulating a strategy for communities.
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I was at the Senscot Conference in November 2019 when Neil McInroy, CEO of the Centre for Local Economic Strategies, led the discussion on Community Wealth Building; great news this week that McInroy has begun a part-time secondment to Scottish Govt – to further roll out this strategy for boosting local economies.
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Fintan O’Toole, in full flight, skewering the deluded national exceptionalism of our English neighbours. O’Toole believes that Boris Johnson’s ‘greatest’ rhetoric is costing lives – because ‘bravado’ doesn’t shape outcomes. More credibly, Nicola Sturgeon treats the virus with appropriate fear and caution.
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Of all the economic recovery advice doing the rounds – I’ve chosen Joseph Stiglitz in Social Europe – because I agree with his values. While not exactly optimistic, he argues that public spending on such a massive scale should, at least, be aimed at long term benefit – a ‘green transition’, more ambitious than roof insulation.
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Economist George Kerevan, whose journalism I’ve grown to respect, claims in this article that Nicola Sturgeon’s leadership of the SNP, has moved ‘bodily to the right’ – protecting a conservative, neoliberal status quo. To disrespect Scotland’s First Minister can feel almost heretical – but I’m glad I read this leftist analysis.
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I love quotes that give out a truth – 5 gems from Ursula le Guin.
– You cannot buy the revolution. You cannot make the revolution. You can only be the revolution. It is in your spirit, or it is nowhere.
– There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there have been no societies that did not tell stories.
– Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.
– Children know perfectly well that unicorns aren’t real, but they also know that books about unicorns, if they are good books, are true books.
– It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.
