"In nature's economy the currency is not money, it is life." — Vandana Shiva
“…And taking one step back…its currency is life-force.”~Ro
Catch & Store Energy, is both practical and archetypal. On the practical side we really must lower our foot print on the planet. And along those lines everything counts. Capturing and storing energy may be as simple as channeling water from gutter downspouts into barrels and using the stored water to water plants in yard, wrap water heater in a blanket, invest in solar, or pre-cycle…that’s when we decide not to generate trash by buying unpackaged produce or bringing your own bags to market, there is then no need to recycle the bag and is referred to as precycle.
On the archetypal side Catch and Store Energy could be called Open and Value Energy.
If you really want to get esoteric, one can Transmute Energy.
Catch/Open: Einstein figured out what great Sages have long intuited… It’s all energy. Exercise is one form of opening energy, fresh organic food and great company would be other ways, creative expression yet another. One could go to the gym for exercise, meet friends for drinks, and the market for food, then go home to a crafts project on a Saturday…, or one could join a community garden and visit while shoveling, get creative while planting edible flowers and veggies, then harvest fresh produce from which to share and create original mouth-watering meals, meals which could be shared... Most of us can only uphold a to-do list for so long, then life happens and we get off track. In a systems approach there are living containers in place to support one’s life, creativity, goals and intent. A to-do list may get lost or forgotten but the container lives. An example would be my intended morning walk, where weather, business, or company would happen and…weeks later…. I’d start walking again. Now our community walks around the lake Mon-Fri. 9:00 to 10:00, three laps-three miles, with more dogs than people. We each have days when we can’t show but regardless the walking continues.
Store/Value: Fill self first. Learn to fill self on all levels, body, mind and spirit. Fill with the finest fuels of exercise, meditation, music, prayer, fresh whole organic food, loving relationships, stimulating books and conversation. And… stop feeding dead things. Dead things are people, work, ego…anything which does not grow or produce something life affirming with the energy. Learn to recognize healthy growth patterns and look for those in allocating time and energy.
Transmute: Further down the list of permaculture principles is Produce a Yield. Transmuting energy as a life-affirming gift or discipline should probably fall under produce a yield but it relates here as well. Joy, anger, fear, love, desire, sadness, are all energy flavors which can be used individually or in combinations to create. The act of creation is an act of transformation… be it a quiet act of kindness, setting a boundary, changing laws, planting a seed…
