eisba

“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death”. Robert Fulghum
This quote, more than many others, encaptures and enraptures what the Adept Living Foundation (ALF) is all about, namely:

1. That the way we use our imagination, either to empower or disempower each and everyone of us, is vital to our health and enjoyment of a full life. In ALF, we teach you how to have and use a healthy imagination.
2. That stories and they way we tell or narrate them can lead us into or away from the enjoyment of that life. In ALF we demonstrate good story telling and lived experience in action.
3. That an optimistic outlook leads to ongoing growth and change. In ALF we use SHAPE – Support, Hope, Accountability, Personal Responsibility & Education to create greater opportunities for successful change.
4. That a healthy and delicate dose of humour enables us to look at what ever is disturbing and difficult from a distance that changes how we experience it. In ALF you will always find a listening ear, a cup of tea and a warm smile.
5. That when we feel cared for, valued and able to contribute to others, we can meet our challenges with a confident smile. In ALF you will be met as an equal who shares with their friends and community in a meaningful and mutual way.

ALF offers community based peer support working from the principal that our lived experience can inspire and help others.

http://www.alfcic.org

The human has, relatively, attained in the last 150 years that which they have often sung about, yearned for and claimed to desire above all things; freedom. Although not perfect, we, particularly, in the West are less subservient and freer from the absolutism of princes and the determination of religion than we have ever been before.

But, freed from the judgement of both, the Western Human has discovered that not having ‘moral dictatorship’ and not having to be ‘well behaved citizens’, means we must work out for ourselves what the rules are for social co-operation. We must take personal responsibility, lead ourselves and act accordingly. Praxeology is the idea that humans always act purposefully, with a goal in mind and in the process of working out what we should now do,  that is steeling our values, has caused as to fret and fracture amongst ourselves.

Without direction on how to act, we suddenly realise that the concepts of what is good or bad, fair or unfair, truth or lies,  and what we are willing to do in response, must be worked out by ourselves, which where true healing lies. In the 1980’s, we were taught that it was the price that we were willing to pay for the tangible goods and services we consumed. But it was never just that. There are a whole host of intangible, value judgements and reflexive responses we make too, before we decide and act. The fret and the fractures make it seem almost like it has become too much for us personally to deal with (before we even consider the needs and views of others, we need to socially co-operate with!)

This is because the idea of ‘absolute freedom’ is a falsehood. We must all compromise something to be effective; a parent to their children; a worker to their market; or a vulnerable person to their carer’s benevolence. This implies two things for healing the fret and fracture: 1. We need to know what the rules (or values) of exchange are 2. We should seek mutuality in all things i.e. to leave each other feeling good after each interaction.

The economic price is rarely ever the only factor that drives our decision making  (if you meet someone for whom it is, I suspect you will enjoy very few transactions with such an individual), so make sure you understand that we cannot be absolutely free, so we should work out what our values, needs and contributions are and understand the same for others. Then in all things you do, seek much local influence as possible, that is where the value of true mutuality lies. And remember, words do not matter, only action does.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

The elder, having reached a place of personal sustainability, is obliged to look at the world objectively and suggest ways that the youth should focus and grow. The youth have energy and passion but are easily persuaded and misled (for example into war or overly constrictive alliances and agreements). The youth for me are the directorate at the Adept Living Foundation CIC (ALF) and the peers we work with.

As business man and leader of a community interest, it is an encumberment on me to produce a strategic plan, to set out the assumptions we will work to and to provide guidance and be transparent in doing so.

This Christmas 2018, our queen reminded me and ALF of its agenda. Treating the other person with respect and as a fellow human being is always a good first step towards greater understanding, so that we can build ‘bonds of affection as it promotes a common desire to live in a better, more peaceful, world’.

Our ALF peers are perplexed by the challenges facing Britain, which are not new, seem scary, but simply represent the changing, exciting opportunities of the abundant world in which we live. ALF sees that the best way we can respond to that is to focus on leading personally purposeful lives, based on mutuality; that is, to live an individually responsible life in co-creation with our community.

At the first stage of our business planning, ALF looks at the world conditions, assuming as follows:

The World Economic Lead Table (WELT) 2018 Report issued by the impartial, influential and renowned Global Construction Perspectives (GCP) and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) state that:

• Developed world share of the economy will drop from 76% (2000) to 44% (2032).
• Western Europe drops from 30% (2000) to 13% (2032).
• World Trade Growth will continue to defeat protectionism.
• Technology will take over from Globalisation in driving the economy.
• Climate Change will impede some economic growth.
• India takes 5^th WELT place. UK loses 6^th to France, early post Brexit, but recovers 2020.
• Brazil takes 6^th place in 2024.
• Asian countries grow, Russia declines, the US continues to grow and remain in 1^st WELT place
• Mexico overtakes Spain, Italy drops out of top 10.

Disruptive technologies are taking effect such that:

• 3D Printing will transform distribution channels.
• Dematerialisation will reduce traded goods in favour of information & expertise.
• The price of energy will fall, therefore resource-based economies will need to diversify
• Air and High-Speed Rail travel are likely to be reduced

Infrastructure, Construction & Urbanisation will drive economic growth:

• Key areas will be India, China & Africa will invest
• These key areas will create gravity pull effect on economic growth
• Flexible economies must respond with need reformed welfare, tax, education and labour market polices

Britain’s opportunities lie in:

• A blend of tech & creative sectors and the creative sector which CEBR terms The Flat White Economy
• The warm relationship with the Common Wealth
• Renewing its relationship with the EU

ALF see this an exciting, yet challenging time ahead and firmly believe that the principles of ‘Peering Into the Future’ will be invaluable both in business and in community, and both of which we will continue to develop and promote.

ALF’s initial response to this is:

ALF will support the Flat White economy by continuing to work with those peers, migrants or otherwise, who are in employment or self-employment, being either directors or staff, to enhance their emotional and mental wellbeing and work even more creatively and productively. ALF will also continue supporting severely challenged peers to find a purposeful direction and, when the time is right, occupation.

The Common Wealth principles are like ALF’s, based on individual nation sovereignty, minimal intervention, but with mutuality as a defining value. The Common Wealth:

• Represents a third of the world’s population, 50% of whom are young people.
• Benefit from a common language, legal systems and institutions.
• Reduces inter member trade costs by 19%.
• Has an agreed strategic plan.

The Common Wealth’s principles, values and strategic plans will form a key plank of the work that ALF will do both in integrating within local communities, and internationally too. Those strategic plans will be addressed as the second phase of ALF’s strategic planning, with a focus on the Common Wealth’s ambition to ‘Accelerate Social Wellbeing’.

ALF considers that the UK and EU Governments will reach some form of relationship that will be mutually beneficial. Given that the international trend towards less Government intervention is more likely, ALF will focus on generating its own income and delivering Government funded programs where it is efficient and effective to do so.