Contribution

Do you contribute to or take from the whole?

This country has experienced two successive quarters of economic contraction.  That makes a recession.  In this period of recession the banks that dominate the market in this country have done very well.  Of the big three only one has experienced a reduction in profit based on the preceding period and that is due to there having been a sale in the preceding period of a limb of its business.  What I see is that while everyone else has been tightening their belts, the banks have done just fine.  Have they trimmed their profits to help support the larger economy?  That would not appear to be the case.  They seem less concerned with being a contribution to the economy than with taking.

Banks:

That may be a harsh indictment upon the banks.  That may not do justice to the role the banks play in supporting the economy and the importance of the banks being stable and able to survive.  The global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 is a relatively recent reminder of the calamity that can follow the collapse of a bank that has lost its financial foundations.  Even this year, three banks in the United States of America collapsed in rapid succession sparking fears of another more large scale collapse. Banks are businesses with shareholders and are expected to generate dividends for those who have invested in them.

Yet, it does seem harsh that at a time when many individuals and businesses are struggling or failing the banking sector should remain recession proof.  It appears somewhat unreasonable that the banks should maintain the margin that they charge above the official government lending rate in times of increasing inflation when the cost of a visit to the supermarket is increasing at a rate not manageable by most ordinary budgets.

Recession-proof:

In an episode of The Sopranos, Tony Soprano is disappointed with his criminal gang’s returns.  He has his consiglieri explain his expectation that there should be no break in the continuity of returns.  The consiglieri tells the crew that two sectors of the economy were recession proof: the entertainment industry and “our thing”.  “Our thing” is organised crime.  Can we add to Hollywood/Bollywood and the mafia the banking sector?

An effect of the banks retaining their margins is that the discretionary income that some in society had before interest rates started to rise is diverted to paying the banks their interest and is, therefore, diverted away from other businesses – away from other services that used to benefit from the spend of the discretionary income.  Services such as wellness providers (yoga studios and personal trainers and massage therapists), hospitality and entertainment all suffer because the money that might have gone their way goes in increased payments to the banks.

The bankers warn of financial headwinds.  They warn people to expect things to get worse before they get better.  They tsk over government management of the economy.  Yet, all the while, they are fine.   It seems to me that if they did not insist on retaining their margins and profit levels then their customers would have fewer pressures on their income and would be better able to support businesses across the spectrum of the economy.  Are the banks contributing or taking from the greater good?

Smoking:

There is a lot of publicity about vaping and the plague of young people, teenagers and even children, becoming addicted to nicotine as a result of vaping with sweet, lolly-like vapes that hook the kids in.  Vape shops have proliferated – thousands in our small country.  Do these shops contribute to society?  Or do they just take profits from a clientele that ought not to be consuming their wares and do so by selling addictive substances.

Some years back I used to occasionally play golf with a guy who had retired.  The first time I met him we chatted about what we did and I asked what his work was before retirement.  He said “I used to work for the tobacco company”.  He did not say it with any enthusiasm nor indicate any desire to talk further about it.  His career with the tobacco company was not something he wanted to talk about, I suspect, because of the lack of worthiness and contribution of those companies to the greater good of society.

Contribution:

The question of contribution over taking shows up in many contexts.  It shows up when volunteers are sought for committees in clubs and organisations.  Along the lines of the little red hen asking who would help her sow the seeds, who would help water the plants, who would help her harvest the wheat and so on.  It shows up with some people having initiative and willingness to help and some confining themselves to solely that within their job description.

Even in the context of a yoga class there are people who show up with their own agenda rather than with a desire to be part of and contribute to the group process.  I often see in yoga class students who do their own thing to some extent and that acts as a divisive force.  At one time a student had an injury from their work, which was a physical job.  She would come to strong, flowing classes knowing she was injured.  In the middle of sun salutations, designed to thoroughly warm the students’ bodies, to lift their energy and to invigorate their beings, this student would drop into a series of more yin-like stretches.

Yin-style stretch-based classes were available and she could have gone to those classes but she chose to go to more dynamic classes and then work against the dynamism of class by doing her own style of practice.  I have no difficulty with students adapting and modifying to meet their needs but there is a question of whether a student should choose one class over another.  There is also a difference between modifying postures as opposed to doing a completely different set of poses.

Synergy:

One of the great things about a group yoga class is the synergy.  When a group of people breathe together and move together, applying themselves with common intention, action and energy, great things happen.  When one element is working against the others, a different result manifests.  An Australian rower once stopped rowing in an Olympic women’s eight race, abandoning the effort and leaving her crew mates to try to compete, one person down.  This is a dramatic example but you will have experience of occasions when someone in a group you are part of has been pulling in the opposite direction or has been taking without contributing.

I used to tutor in law.  Some students showed up to the tutorials having prepared the topic and in a position to discuss the issues and contribute to the group learning process.  Others showed up unprepared and treated the tutorials as a supplementary lecture where they could just take notes, learn from others what they had not prepared themselves and act like a sponge.  When at university there were times when I had done the same thing.  Having seen the situation now from the perspective of the tutor I fully understand how unsatisfactory it is to have a student have no ability to contribute and expect to take from others in tutorials.

Rewards more than mere profit:

Be a contributor.  In the way you bring yourself to your activities, your family, your work, your entertainment, seek to enhance the experience of all.  To take is selfish.  To contribute is selfless.  Selfish behaviour is ultimately unrewarding and isolating.  Selfless behaviour has a reward that warms the heart and soul and creates connections.

There may be a profit in taking.  You may gain what you did not previously have at a superficial level.  It is a zero sum gain, however.  What you take comes at someone else’s expense.  To contribute enriches everyone.  To share your knowledge does not deplete your knowledge but helps inform and enhance the understanding of others.  To help someone makes their way easier and enheartens you as your reward.  To put your shoulder to the wheel in concert with others creates an effect greater than the sum of the individual parts. 

In the 1920s Mahatma Gandhi wrote pieces for a newspaper called New India.  In one piece he wrote of the seven dangers to human virtue.  Each danger warns of a lack of contribution.  Wealth without work warns of the need to give and apply oneself to earn and deserve the fruits of one’s labours.  Religion without sacrifice and business without ethics similarly warn of the perils of taking without contributing.

Gandhi warned of politics without principle.  This country is a capitalist regime.  Yet, the country has a well-established social welfare system and many public services including health and education.  The principle of caring for the whole of society tempers the open market economics that might otherwise benefit a very few and leave large sections of the population exploited or overlooked.  To serve and contribute are goals of the government as well as to oversee a free market economy.

Make contribution your way.  Serve, teach and inspire.  In yoga class I love to be alongside others and to sense that we are each giving to and drawing from the others.  Many times I have had other students say they like to practice alongside me as it lifts their practice.  Their lift comes from my sense of purpose and my energy in class.  But it is a reciprocal process.  I have the same experience of them as they tell me they have of me.  I feel inspired and invigorated by their presence and contribution.

There is a tremendous benefit in feeling that your efforts have contributed to a greater good.  Something I like about playing rugby was the way each player’s work on the training ground and in matches made for an organism that functioned in a holistic way.  Anyone shirking detracted from the whole.  Everyone’s efforts could contribute to the whole.  Like bees in a hive, however modest your role, by applying yourself to the interests of the group or the society, the whole benefits.