My Personal Year of Jubilee

What’s your favourite Utopian movie? I don’t have one. They are usually based around a love story that solves the underlying unfairness of the falsely equal world that really takes away our individual identities. Not something I would put at the top of my list of ideals. They are also heavily tech-based thinking, machines monitoring everything, automation that ensure you put in the least effort, leaving every human to merely exist. Honestly, no one really wants to exist like that. Unless you are the megalomaniac obsessed with control. On the flip side, at the beginning of the year, I read a few things about this Christian concept of the year of Jubilee. It is some kind of utopia but a lot more practical and ethically demanding.

No-one should work for the year, slaves are freed, ancestral property is restored, debts are forgiven and a year of dedicated charity work.

The concept is wild especially in this world mostly ruled by capitalism. If you don’t mind some theology, here’s a very detailed discussion about it by the Bible Project, skip to 21 minutes. The year of Jubilee is basically a year of rest marked by an economic reset. No-one should work for the year, slaves are freed, ancestral property is restored, debts are forgiven and a year of dedicated charity work. It’s a fresh start. Imagine that plot you got on a good deal being restored back to the owner. Or you, the business owner, telling all your people see you next year on January. The first thing that comes to mind is Communism, oh the horror, BUT when you read through there are instructions on how to do it. It imagines an ideal world where those who do rule, rule fairly and those who have, share with those who don’t. We survive on provision from the previous year, and get back to business the year after. I do note though that there is no written record of it actually being observed.

Nature always heals. There will be loss but there will also be recovery.

Remotely related to our thought process today is a mini-documentary I watched about what would happen to the world if humanity was wiped out. Long story short, the earth would just rejuvenate. See Australia for example, as it is recovering from the devastating forest fires, the ground is slowly sprouting life. Nature always heals. This is a practical lesson in that there will be loss but it will be followed by some recovery. It feels like, between the pandemic and the butterfly effect thereof, it’s been a sort of forced Jubilee. Regular work stopped everywhere, people moved back to upcountry living, financial institutions had to restructure debts and cash flow, business owners either took a cut or shut down. To some degree, we sacrificed work and took a bit of a rest.

The reset was real and it put a lot into perspective. I did the one thing that I have always wanted to do but never fixed on a direction to do it: write. I have read through all the articles I’ve written and it’s been an amazing journey. This started just before the lockdown, and in the beginning, I could see my hopeful mindset moving towards the frustration and back to the old normal course of fretting over what should be done. In going through my writing, I saw two things: It forced a time to check if I’m following my purpose and what I am going to do to make it right. Second, it’s not a new normal but a new world order that will not let you go back to the suppositions of before.

I’m practicing what I preach by introducing you to my blog Millenial Life Coach.

I found an old journal with each entry starting with “Today is the first day of the rest of my life.” In it were affirmations that got me through that season and growth lessons from Robin Sharma that have rekindled my interest in his mastery sessions. I want to pass on one of the challenges to you. I don’t do new year’s resolutions. I either really want to do it. Or I don’t. So instead of counting down to “new year new me”, throw that out the window, take a real break and reflect. Then whatever your new improved self says they will do different, make sure you start it today (relative to your reflections of course).

I’m practising what I preach by introducing you to my blog Millenial Life Coach. I have panicked and procrastinated and finally got to the calm to take the leap of faith. Check it out and find out why the title is aspirational, catch up with old posts that are now better edited and ask about my budding passion project. I would be happy to know what you think.