Small Business for a Big Future!
I have a list of passions that motivate me day to day. Of course, bees are number one. Education too, family, the environment. But small business is right up there, as it is a cornerstone for so many important aspects of our society. You see, small business is more than meets the eye. Not only do small-scale, localised retailers and service providers stimulate the economy, they also alter the social and cultural landscape.
But let’s go back in time. Before World War II, cities and rural areas were intimately connected, with the urban food system largely dependent on the production of farmers in the countryside. There was as “Market Street” in every town where food, fruits and vegetables were sold from the back of trucks. There were public market spaces that people would travel to once a week, and little urban gardens too where produce was grown. However, a shift in industrialisation and geographic, political and economic forces after the war, altered the way we buy and consume: cities were suburbanised; a nationalisation (now internationalisation) of the food system occurred, with food being shipped in from other areas; supermarkets sprouted up everywhere; and big industrialised farms were connected by monster highways. Of course, this devastated small food producers who could no longer keep up with production and costs.
And while this fancy new method of food production and distribution may have decreased prices and amplified the amount of produce available, it had other detrimental outcomes. To make food cheaper it needed to be made quickly, often lowering its quality and nutritional value. Chemicals were introduced. And, in turn, this “quantity over quality” mindset affected the health of people in the Western world, where obesity became an epidemic. Socially and culturally, this method of food production also eliminated a really vital and human exchange between people—the simple growing and passing on of food for survival and sustenance.
Luckily, a slower approach to living, buying and eating is rising up. We understand that disconnecting from business, and not knowing where things come from, doesn’t make consuming better, it makes its hidden. It takes information out of our hands. It usually makes business unethical, too. So, don’t put your hard-earned dollars in the pockets of huge corporations—we are making a move back to small business because we need to! It’s vital. The planet can’t cope with the chemicals and the mass infrastructure anymore. And people are suffering too, physically, mentally and—I would argue—spiritually. Buying from a small-scale business person helps them, their families, the environment, and the world at large. When you make your next consumer choice, put money in the pocket of someone close by, someone small, someone who cares about the world we are living in, someone passionate about the job they do. When you buy local, you buy from the heart, bee lovers! ... See MoreSee Less
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Modern Panic
I am lucky to have a positive outlook on life. I am even luckier to not really be the kind of person that has (as yet) experienced any major depression. But despite my happy-go-lucky approach, and potential to see the bigger picture when things get tough, even I can’t escape the hustle and the bustle of this modern life. Constantly on the move to rehome bees, I spend a lot of time running around from suburb to suburb, often in crazy traffic, amid some equally crazy energy. I don’t know how much I believe in the stress of a place – that energy I spoke of – but I would be lying if I said I haven’t felt the frenetic and intense feeling that seems to emanate off people with way too much on their plate. Sometimes even the city just seems to not be coping.
Anxiety is a condition that effects around 2 million people per year in Australia, according to Beyond Blue. That’s double the amount of people that experience depression. This condition encompasses nervousness, stress, worry and dread – it is the inclination to run, to get out, to flee. This can be very useful if you are in a genuinely dangerous situation, and, in small doses, anxiety can even help to propel you to get things done. But the kind of anxiety we are talking about here is not that; it is debilitating, often leading people into states of intense worry, fear, obsessive habits and even panic attacks.
With the state of our world, there is no wonder that these feelings are on the rise. Expectations seem to have increased (even if they haven’t necessarily). Technology is ‘better’ connecting us that even before, which can lead to a feeling of being overly connected – the phone running off the hook, social media following us at every turn. Cities are expanding at a crazy rate. And many of us are losing touch with nature and with other people. That’s something very close to my heart, and an issue that has been on my mind.
I know I too experience anxiety (even if I think I don’t); I understand that feeling of overwhelm rising up. I guess for me something kicks in that says, “yes, run, but run somewhere that fills you with joy”. Usually this is out of town, even just half an hour or so. I am lucky to have a job that connects me to the natural world on a daily basis, and I am going to do my best to bring a little of that to the digital world. More to come on ways to help alleviate the panic so prevalent in our modern life! Love Ben x ... See MoreSee Less
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