REFLECTIVE INSIGHT #010 - BEYOND THE DOLLAR: MEASURING WHAT REALLY MATTERS

The Problem With the Old Maths

Kia ora. In offices and boardrooms across Whangārei and Kaikohe, success is often measured using spreadsheets and bank balances. This old system, which can be thought of as "Babylonian maths," focuses purely on profit. But if that profit comes at the cost of a polluted river or families who can no longer afford to live in their own hometowns, is it actually success? In the "Woven Universe," we see that everything is connected; we cannot separate the money from the health of the land and the people.

The Hidden Debt

When a business makes money but ignores the damage it does to the environment or the stress it puts on workers, it is creating what is called a "Mauri Debt." The old system treats the land as a dead object to be used, rather than a living ancestor. We might call this profit, but the universe sees it as Mauri Mate, a state of decay and loss.