Relationship Economy

Five years ago I began hearing about the need for new forms of exchange. It was clear to the experts I was hearing that we were heading down an unsustainable road with things as they were. Now, there are a few different exchange economies popping up.

I am part of a Time Bank where I give a service, such as driving someone to a doctor appointment, or helping them pack boxes or run a fundraiser and they give me time credit that I can spend on anything I want that is offered through the local time bank community. So far I purchased guitar lessons and tech help.

One of the side benefits of the Time Bank is building community. In addition to neighbors helping neighbors they may not have known before, there are social events to get to know one another, exchange ideas and just have fun.

I have been hearing more and more about people who are living in community of some kind. Some in co-housing, some who have given up a lot of their possessions and are living with others and some people who own homes and are sharing them in creative ways – either permanently or as temporary residents bringing their gifts as an exchange.

One friend recently told a group of us several stories about how this works for her. She lives alone in a home she loves but she missed having someone to share conversation with and she wanted help paying the rent.

One day she was pondering how she could get more money to help pay the mortgage. She has a deep trust that everything is for the best and she believed it would work out without her trying too hard. The next day she met a couple looking to rent a room in her home town once a week on Tuesdays, so they could visit their grandchildren. A match was made.

This same friend offered a room to a young woman who has been living with her for months. The young woman had no possessions but many talents as a chef. She cooks for my friend and they share meals together. When the young lady expressed regret that she has little to offer (in the old way of financial exchange) my friend replied, “Your presence is a gift”. How delicious is that!

In researching how to create the One Global Bridge Community to be both sustainable and relationship building, I came upon this site: Thriving in the Relationship Economy by Jerry Michalski. Not only does it have some thought provoking things on it… it has very cool graphics.

I have been around conversations about this kind of thing for a few years now. It was not termed “relationship economy” per se, but it has always been an inquiry about how we can source from each other so we all benefit. I like how Jerry looks at building an economy based on, in part, authentic relationship (not fauxthentic as Jerry says). How might we even get back to ‘make nice’ like we were told in kindergarten or feel safe enough to experience ‘vulnerability’ as core human attributes that could serve as a foundation of our new economy?

Jerry doesn’t have answers. For a novice like me he shares some interesting resources like the Silicon Valley Insider Chart that looks at the economic performance of classic newspaper ads vs. a shared resource like Craig’s list. It is worth checking out this link just to get some conversations going!

Join the conversation: Have you been building your relationships these days as a way of being sustainable? How is that working for you?