You’re happy with your income and how you earn money.
The way you spend feels good and is in alignment with your values.
You know where you want to go and how you can use money to get there.
Your savings rate feels good and you’re investing for that thing that makes your eyes twinkle; be it early retirement, a down payment on a home, or the wedding trip of your life.
If you have any debt, you’re comfortable with it and have a plan to either pay it off or know how it’s being handled.
You’ve got your risk management taken care of: meaning health insurance, life insurance for your loved ones that depend on you, and all the insurances that make sense for you.
You know that if you were to pass away today, you feel good about how your things and your money will be shared with those you leave behind.
You have people in your corner to reach out to with money questions, be it taxes, filing for an insurance claim, or just to talk things through when making big decisions.
Imagine this is you, and your money, and you are EMPOWERED AF.
Take a breath and enjoy this feeling. Relax into it. Stretch like a cat and feel the weight of money stress melt off your shoulders. I promise you, you look real good sinking into that yummy feeling.
With ALL that in place, what would you do for your community?
Now, who’s in your community?
Whoever. You. Want.
You get to decide whether your community is your family, your coworkers, the trees that provide you oxygen, your local football team, whoever! They’re your community and you are ready to love on them. Let that big smile spread across your lovely face.
What would you do?
I believe that when money is as easy as riding a bike and we are each thriving, our communities will flourish.
My favorite example of a community doing well together is in nature. The wonderful indigenous ecologist Robin Wall Kimmerer introduced me to the community of the Three Sisters in her must read book Braiding Sweetgrass. You can read the excerpt I’m referring to here.
The three sisters are Corn, Beans and Squash. They are planted together and lean on each other.
Corn grows tall and proud, which allows Beans to wrap around Corn. And at the bottom lies baby sister Squash, creating all kinds of nutrients for Beans and Corn, while enjoying the shade.
Together they produce more, better quality food, than if they were separate.
Kimmerer imagines that when colonists arrived and saw these “messy gardens” they must have thought that was further evidence of laziness. Colonists could have stopped to consider that maybe this was a more fertile way of planting.
For Kimmerer, when she sees acres of Corn in neat little rows, she wonders if they are lonely without their sisters. She also sees a community that values homogeneity and discipline above community.
When each of us shines our own light, our communities benefit. In her words, Kimmerer says:
“The way of the Three Sisters reminds me of one of the basic teachings of our people. The most important thing each of us can know is our unique gift and how to use it in the world.
Individuality is cherished and nurtured, because, in order for the whole to flourish, each of us has to be strong in who we are and carry our gifts with conviction, so they can be shared with others.
Being among the sisters provides a visible manifestation of what a community can become when its members understand and share their gifts. In reciprocity, we fill our spirits as well as our bellies.”
Robin Wall Kimmerer
So, if money were as easy as riding a bike and you could shine your light, what would you create, what would you experience? Don’t be shy! I’d love to hear your dreams on this.
And I’d also love to hear where money hurts today. Where is money causing pain? As Corn teaches us, growth invites us to reach to the sky. Beans reminds us that flexibility is a gift. While Squash is an example of receiving generously.
Each of us must take care of ourselves, for you cannot give from an empty well. Whether you need to talk through paying off student loans, negotiating a raise, or figuring out health insurance claims, you can reach out to me for a free one time session or email support.
I’ve worked hard to make my money as easy as riding a bike and I want to make that a reality for everyone in my community. Because no one is free, until we are ALL free.
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