Charles Eisenstein

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Futureproofing: How to Actually Invest in Your Future

by Big Calm

“Community is probably the best investment you can make.” ~ Charles Eisenstein

When we hear the word “investing,” most of us think about financial wealth—savings accounts, stock portfolios, or retirement funds. While financial capital is undeniably important, it is far from the only form of wealth that ensures resilience and fulfillment in life.

True resilience—what allows us to thrive no matter what challenges arise—is built by nurturing all the forms of wealth that sustain us as individuals, families, and communities. Aside from financial capital, there are 7 other kinds of wealth:

Social Capital

This is your network of relationships—family, friends, and community—and is a profound source of comfort, support and opportunity. 

Cultural Capital

The shared values, ethics, traditions, and knowledge that strengthen communities and provide a sense of identity. In the case of permaculture (and as a permaculture-guided community, Big Calm) shared ethics include: 

  • Earth Care: preserving and nurturing the natural world, reducing consumption and minimizing human impact to maintain biodiversity
  • People Care: ensuring the well-being of individuals and communities through cooperation, fairness, and shared prosperity 
  • Fair Share: the equitable distribution of resources and surplus

Material Capital

The physical goods and resources you and/or your community own—homes, tools, and equipment—that can sustain individual/community needs or help build a self-reliance.

Intellectual Capital

Knowledge and skills are assets that cannot be taken away. Investing in education, training, and the curiosity to keep learning pays dividends in adaptability and innovation.

Living Capital

This refers to the natural systems we rely on: soil health, clean water, air quality, and biodiversity. Often undervalued in traditional economic systems, these resources are critical to survival.

Spiritual Capital

A sense of purpose and connection to something greater than oneself fosters resilience during life’s inevitable challenges and helps us navigate uncertainty.

Experiential Capital

Life is the sum of our experiences. Traveling, creating art, or spending time in nature expands our horizons and enriches our sense of what it means to live well.

Why This Matters More Than Ever

Our modern systems are designed to prioritize financial wealth above all else, but that model is failing us. Economic uncertainty, environmental degradation, and social disconnection have shown us that focusing on financial returns alone is not sustainable. Resilience comes from diversifying our portfolios with positions in all 8 kinds of capital, for example:

  • Build Connections: Volunteer in your community, host gatherings, and participate in collaborative projects to strengthen social capital.
  • Care for Nature: Plant a garden, restore native habitats, or support conservation efforts
  • Learn Continuously: Pick up new skills or hobbies that align with your values to build self-reliance and enhance well being
  • Simplify Ownership: Invest in quality tools and resources rather than accumulating unnecessary possessions
  • Create Culture: Tell stories, share your traditions and create new ones

When we expand our understanding of wealth, we free ourselves from the treadmill of accumulating money at the expense of everything else. Instead, we create lives that are rich in relationships, knowledge, and purpose—a wealth that no market crash can erode. It’s the cumulative effect of nurturing all forms of capital that leads to a resilient and fulfilling life.

CategoriesLifestyle

Living in the Gift: Rediscovering Connection and Abundance

by Big Calm

“The gift moves in a circle, and it returns transformed.” ~ Charles Eisenstein

Our economic system is based on the pursuit of endless growth, often at the expense of social and ecological health. But it hasn’t always been this way.

In traditional societies, gift economies were foundational. Food, labour, and resources were shared within communities, strengthening bonds and ensuring that no one went without. In these systems, wealth wasn’t measured by accumulation but by how much a person gave.

The idea of a gift economy, where goods and services are freely given rather than exchanged for money, is a central theme in Charles Eisenstein’s Sacred Economics. This book came highly recommended as a community-visioning resource and it did not disappoint!

Conventional monetary systems isolate people from one another by turning relationships into transactions. They enable the accumulation of wealth by a small number of individuals and thrive on a sense of scarcity (often a result of how resources are distributed, not their actual availability) and competition. In the current economic system, as Eisenstein puts it, “your loss is my gain”. 

In contrast, a gift economy emphasizes community, trust, and abundance. Resources circulate freely, without an explicit expectation of return. Gift economies rekindle a sense of connection and shared purpose while creating networks of mutual support. They shift the focus from individual gain to collective well-being, so “your gain is my gain”.

Gift economies may not be practical on a large scale, but integrating at the community level aspects of gift economies—local currencies or bartering for example—can create abundance. (It’s no surprise that the concept of gift economies is implied in the “fair share” permaculture ethic, which guides us to “take what we need, share what we don’t”). 

They invite us to rethink what we value and how we relate to one another. Gift economies call on us to give freely—whether it’s time, resources, or care—knowing that the act of giving enriches not just the recipient, but also the giver.

Inspired? We certainly are!

To learn more, the full text of Sacred Economics is available here.