I was looking for a way to describe my role after the Reval.
And, as I said before, the only thing I bring to the party is that I purchased the currency from which all else flows.
And my co-creative partner, the real power in the house, is an archangel. But he tends to be a silent partner most of the time.
So I ended up with a sizeable bank account, as I knew I would, and I’m now responsible for spending it wisely.
In what capacity?
CEO? Really? Adviser? No more than that. Councillor? Counsellor? Chancellor? What’s the role?
And then I received, intuited, drew out of thin air: “Steward.” Yes, that’s the closest metaphor I can think of. I and you and all of us who’ve participated in the Reval have, in my view, signed on to be stewards of the Mother’s wealth.
We’re to manage her estate in a wise and compassionate manner. In regards to the decisions we make, I think we’re expected to make them in a manner that’s fair and equitable to all.
Fair in that they use a known and commonly-accepted standard of judgment for an even-handed outcome, leaving no one seriously aggrieved.
Equitable, not equal. To legislate equality fails to take into account circumstances that affect only one party, like pregnancy. Equitable is equal with variation in the name of justice. It’s what lies at the heart of affirmative action: Action that compensates for mitigating circumstances.
I stress that the expectation, if I’m correct, is not to build companies or run them. It’s to disperse her money in a fair and equitable manner – taking into account all circumstances: contingency fund, taxation if any, benefits plans, savings for multi-year grants, and a hundred other things we can’t possibly think of now.
Up till this very moment, I’ve always assumed that my role included running companies, if even from an executive level. I now see that that does not necessarily flow from all I’ve learned.
My only responsibility is to disperse the Mother’s wealth in a fair and equitable manner. And I have to keep reminding myself of that to prevent responsibility creep.
Having carried out that responsibility, the rest of my time is for writing and sacred partnership. This that I’m doing is, again, planning. Planning we can do before the Reval.
