From Transactions to Relationships

via website RSF Social Finance website http://rsfsocialfinance.org/

Dear Friends,

We see clear signs that more people want their values and money to be aligned. They are beginning to shift what they purchase, where they bank, and how they invest. They yearn to connect directly with the producers of their food, for example, and seek to know that their financial decisions are beneficial, not harmful, for both people and the Earth.

Likewise, we see the quality and quantity of social enterprises increasing. More people want to have a sense of deep purpose in their day-to-day work; and more entrepreneurs are harnessing the power of business to address social and environmental problems.

We believe this growing awareness and activity will transform the way all of us work with money over the next couple of generations. We believe it’s possible now to envision a financial system based on love and mutual respect, rather than fear and greed.

Transformation of our financial system will occur when each and every financial transaction becomes a relationship. This is why RSF exists. It may sound esoteric, but RSF is more about being than doing. How we show up is just as important as what we do. Potency is our aim, not scale.

Interbeing. All of our work rests on the principle of interdependence, or interconnectedness, as articulated by Rudolf Steiner throughout his life, and by many other spiritual leaders over the centuries.

I am because you are.

I love that Interbeing is not a philosophy; it is a practice. It comes from insight that must be felt and experienced directly.

For us at RSF, working in the sphere of financial transactions, our practice is deep listening. We strive to serve and to lead our community from a place of deep listening in each and every relationship.

Interbeing, one might say, is both a principle that governs how we are and what we do, and a practice that we try to cultivate regularly. It is related to one of our most important objectives: to become a more agile and emergent trust network, and not a rigidly centralized, hierarchical institution.

Thank you for all that you do in the spirit of Interbeing!

All the best,

Don

President & CEO of RSF Social Finance