Responding to the new economy, long foretold!

by Audrey Peterman

I never thought I’d be blogging for dollars.

Since 1995 I’ve been writing consistently about national parks as a cornerstone of our environment. Loving the parks, forests and nature preserves and taking limitless inspiration from them, I couldn’t stop trying to share them with everyone even if I tried. It never occurred to me to ask for support in this endeavor until Dr. Mary Trump’s newsletter, “The Good in Us,” landed in my mailbox. The fact that she makes her work available by subscription helped me see that I too, could adapt to the changing economy by asking those who enjoy my work to lend a hand in supporting it.

The hilarious thing is that, back in the 1980s shortly after I moved to Florida and met Frank, he recommended that I read the book Mega Trends. He said it enlightened him so much about what the future would bring that he went out right away and bought a personal computer, which at that time was a small box with glowing green letters on screen. The printer required paper to be loaded over sprockets on both sides, and anyone of a certain age might remember that particular whirring and grating sound.

Of course I read the book and was amazed that among many other things, it projected that in the not too distant future everyone would be using personal computers, and moreover, there would be a revolution in how people made a living or worked. It said that the tedious dangerous commute to work would be replaced with many people working from home, and that there would be a dramatic rise in “cottage industries” that allowed people to be more creative and make a living doing what they love.

I laughed out loud at that because as a dreamer, I’d wondered why that wasn’t already the case. Obviously people would thrive if they could do what they love in a conducive atmosphere. Such freedom would inure to the benefit of the whole, and cut down on many negatives including the creation of pollution and the effects of stress on the body.

Forty years on, I’m embracing that economy, offering the insights and wisdom I’ve gained in my 70 years to help others find balance and purpose. I was elated beyond words when, a few weeks ago, I saw a story from the legendary Deepak Chopra (Frank studies his Seven Spiritual Laws of Success almost religiously) calling for “A Pandemic of Joy” to correct the malaise that the world is currently going through.

Curiously, last Thanksgiving Day one of my friends since high school posted on Facebook, “If we could bottle your capacity for joy and gratitude and secretly vaccinate a few million people, we’d be good!” So it seems I’ve been on the Joy Train for a while.

I’m asking you to join me on that journey so we can lend our collective energies to the betterment of our world. Please subscribe to get a joy-focused message from our life adventures and a relevant action item in your mailbox at least once each week, or as many times as you’d like. Thank you.