Saved by Ben Hewitt

Author:Ben Hewitt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale
Published: 2013-07-15T16:00:00+00:00

I have come a long way from the sugarhouse, and I return to it now only briefly, to make this final point. Because, finally, I have come to understand what it is about this spot that so captures my imagination and compels me to consider matters of wealth and money against a backdrop that would seem to suggest neither.

It is because, as antiquated and decayed as they are, these sugarhouse remains are no mirage. The story told by the industry that occurred under the roof that once sheltered my favorite foundation stone was a story of conscious economics, rooted in toil and nature’s regenerative gift of sap. It was not fueled by the false abundance generated by oil. The process involved in this early sugaring venture was extractive, to be sure, but in a manner that by necessity respected the natural resource, with the recognition that maple trees, if exploited through overtapping, will age prematurely and die. There was no way to externalize the toll of this small enterprise, which traded the sweet distillation of all the efforts put forth for the pockets of cash that would provide those essentials that could not be produced on a farm. It would have been understood that the value of the sugar bush could not be measured solely in monetary terms because to do so would begin to erode its vitality over the long haul. This was not altruism, or at least not wholly; it was simple recognition of the limitations inherent in the trees that—spring, after spring, after spring—gave forth a portion of their lifeblood.

It is only when the true costs of industry and wealth accumulation are hidden that the illusion of abundance begins to take shape. Often, it is simple distance that creates the opacity, but just as frequently, it is the lie that is told by this illusion. It says that we can lay down the “burden” of accountability and simple honest work. It whispers that life is better when this weight is lifted from our shoulders and we join the school of fish swimming in unison along the river of false abundance. But we forget that the factors making this arrangement the norm enjoy little historical precedent; we forget that the load does not simply disappear; it merely shifts, to be borne by the environment and the less fortunate. The illusory, self-generating nature of money is not the only reason for this shift, but it underpins all other factors, for it serves as their enabler.

Which is to say, until we fix our relationship to money, we will fix very little else.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.