What world do you want to shape?

Jun 24, 2014

1.

I’m choosing to write this post because I’m afraid to. I’m fearful Amazon could get wind of it and yank the buy buttons from my books. Staying silent about what bothers me so I won’t get hassled — that hit me hard. That is not the world I want to contribute to shaping.

2.

You might not know or care that Amazon is involved in a tussle with one of the big publishers, Hachette, over various pricing issues and have removed buy buttons or pre-order buttons from their titles. It’s not that important in itself except that it calls attention to the kind of company Amazon is — read this Guardian article (thanks, Jeffrey) — and the kind of world we are contributing to shaping by buying from Amazon.

3.

“What kind of world do you want to contribute to shaping?” ~Hiro Boga

I’m at Hiro’s house, writing, eating incredible love-drenched food, talking life, and dancing. We were talking over dinner about our friend Jeffrey’s 30-day challenge to not buy from Amazon (great post!) when Hiro said, “What kind of world do you want to contribute to shaping?” What a generative question – rather than focus on what I don’t want Amazon to be, focus on what I want. That made me sit up tall. She’s so wise and generous!

4.

I want to contribute to an Amazon and a world that pays employees and suppliers a living wage or price and treats them with fairness; where the environment is taken into consideration in the whole supply and delivery process; where profits are not the ultimate factor; where the big picture isn’t about how big you can get but how much wholeness you can create.

In the world I want to help shape, cheap and fast are not the benchmarks of happiness.

5.

It’s not about Amazon or Hatchette or whatever company you like to diss; it’s not about demonizing anybody! It’s about working for the whole. And of course, you and I are each part of that whole and must take care of ourselves, too. Sometimes that means doing business with companies we don’t love — after all, I buy gas and drive a car (a low-emission, high-mileage car but still). It’s also not about hiding in resignation and personal comfort because we can’t be perfect at creating the world we want.

6.

To quote Hiro again, “What kind of world do you want to contribute to shaping?”

Thanks to Jeffrey for getting me thinking and thanks to you for reading,

Jen

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