A Good Pruning

When I prune my shrubs and trees, it seems painful at the time. Large branches fall and there are large piles of debris to be cleared away. Sometimes, someone comes by and says "Wow - are you sure you should be cutting that much off?" But the next year, those trees and shrubs looks great. They are healthy, well groomed, and just the right size for my yard.

Could it be that this economic downturn is like a good pruning? That what remains will be healthier and much better than before? If I didn't prune my shrubs, they would get large, uneven, and unsightly - growing in places I don't want them to grow. What if that is what is happening to us right now?

What if this economy is just a reflection of unhealthy, ungainly growth? Growth based upon deficit spending with no way to pay. Consumers just buying things on credit and worrying about the payments later. Homeowners with mortgages and no reasonable way to make the payments. After all, what good lender approves a loan with no verification that the monthly payments can be paid? Or that the borrower is telling the truth about their income? Maybe it's good that such lenders fail...

What if the result of this is that people learn to buy things with cash, not credit? What if they learn to save and not borrow for everything? To actually put money aside for an emergency or for a rainy day? Or to actually verify income and their ability to make the payments on a home mortgage? Wow - who would've thought?

When things get easy for long periods of time, we have a natural tendency to get very lazy and complacent and we begin making assumptions that probably aren't true. We start putting our trust in things based on quicksand instead of real security. We forget that bad things can happen and when they do, we are shocked instead of prepared.

I hope that as the result of this pruning, we rethink our priorities, we readjust our values and we change where we look for security. Each of us has our own values and priorities for our lives. But it seems to me that the things I've mentioned could be embraced by everyone with tremendous benefit to all. I think it's a better way to live.