Are you a values shopper? Or are you a value shopper? How to know…
Would you voluntarily pay for something that is offered for free? Or would you take the initiative to pay a higher price than what someone is asking?
Why in the world would you do that? It sounds crazy.
Well, you would do it is because there’s something you care about more than money. Maybe even a few things.
In an extractive economic paradigm, we are always looking to get more for less. We’re trying to maximize value, which translates into doing whatever we can to receive as much return as possible while putting in as little investment or effort as possible. This is how we’ve been taught to play the game of life. The underlying subconscious goal is to get ahead, through energy conservation and resource accumulation.
Things look different when we remember interdependence with other living beings, and tap into the fundamental quality of humility. Humility is often mistaken as weakness, but actually, it is a remembrance of our not-aloneness.
Our destiny is intertwined with that of all other life on this planet. And we are all dependent on the natural resources of Mother Earth along with the energy of the star at the center of our solar system. Without the Earth’s resources and without the Sun’s rays, we wouldn’t last for more than a few days. When we are in contact with that fact of Earth-based reality, then we are in connection with humility.
Looking at reality that way, we see how the concept of “getting ahead” is ridiculous. Who are we getting ahead of? To go where exactly? Zooming out from the daily concerns of our small self, we see that we’re all passengers on the same planetary ship. If the ship manages to stay afloat, we’re all flying. If the ship sinks, we’re all dying.
There’s no winning that doesn’t cost someone somewhere something. It’s just that the costs are usually hidden from us. Out of sight, out of mind. We don’t see the enormous plastic garbage patches blanketing the ocean. We don’t see the working conditions of the laborers who assemble or phones or stitch our clothes. We don’t see global temperatures creeping up year after year and how that impacts biodiversity.
We are sold on the fantasy of more for less. Grab this deal. Get it now: Strong legs. Sexy butt. Healthy gut. Shiny hair. Fearless. Confident. Trauma free. Enlightened. Fulfilled. Having amazing tantric sex. Making six figures monthly while you sleep.
Extraction would have us believe that we can keep taking, without tending. It lulls us into prioritizing accumulation over regeneration. Extraction would have us believe that the holy grail of our ego objective is this close — we can almost smell it. It hypnotizes us into delaying balance a little bit longer.
Just buy one more thing and then you’ll reach this ideal… Forget about balancing the energy of exchange. Get bigger. Grow followers. We want more. We want better. We can forget about responsibility for just a little bit longer. Sounds tempting right?
But this is unsustainable. Short-term sacrifice for long-term gain does not pay, ultimately. Because the future we’re saving for will never arrive if we cannot see beyond what’s on our individual plate. The irony is: the harder we try to climb to the top on the backs of invisible others, the faster we race to the bottom together.
With our life’s currency poured into personal empire building, we hasten the end times for humanity. No one wins if we continue this current trajectory.
If we want to exit the downward spiral of the extraction economy, what do we want to be building instead? I call it an attraction economy. It makes the act of exchange sacred again, and motivates investment out of our deepest desires for humanity.
In a few recent situations, this idea became really real to me. I paid someone an extra 50% on top of the fees that I had previously agreed. I selected service provider that cost nearly double what similar agencies charge. In one case, it was a simple expression of gratitude and appreciation, stemming from my desire for the person to feel well-nourished in their obvious, passionate devotion to their craft. In another case, it was because I believe in the mission of the company that I want to support their business to grow.
In an attraction economy, we pay for more of what we want to see. We vote for reality using our money. That’s not always going to be the cheapest option. We want to pay more if we can, because we are investing in the future of humanity.
We pay more for products that don’t pollute the environment. We pay more to shop at local small businesses because we want our neighbors to be happy and healthy. We give away things for free that we could charge money for, because of the minds and hearts we open, it makes it well worth the tradeoff financially.
This is how we take care of the planet. This is how we build community.
An extraction economy is one where we are manipulated to buy things we don’t need because we are triggered by sales tactics of fear and scarcity. An attraction economy is one where we are inspired to open our wallets because of our desire for a better world, and only when we feel the resonance of shared values.
If you would like to support me as a writer, please consider becoming a paying subscriber to my Substack channel.
As I write this, I am realizing how rarely I ask directly to be nourished in exchange for the energy I pour into this Substack. The thing is, I love to write. I embrace it as self-therapy as well as one of my gifts to humanity. I love to inspire and activate with my words. And I want my writing to be accessible to everyone for free.
Yet these free essays require quite a bit of time and energy in crafting. An essay like this one has been in my drafts folder for weeks, if not months. When I sit down to complete a piece, it usually takes me a full day or two of writing and editing.
Thank you to the 27 paying subscribers who are sponsoring me! A subscription is a way to offer positive feedback and encouragement to creators who align with your values. And if you can’t afford to subscribe you can support by sharing!
It may seem like a small thing, but for me, subscriptions are a confirmation from the Universe to keep putting energy here. With more than a thousand people here reading my essays regularly, if even 20% of you were to pay $5 to $7 per month (the cost of a fancy coffee), that sum is significant enough to be life changing for me. I could dedicate a lot more time and energy to my writing.