Banking time
Lately I keep coming across the idea of a Time Bank. My mom shared a Facebook post about it, then I read about it in a book. Then I read about it in another book. The universe can’t rely on subtlety with me; it needs to really whack me on the head. Okay I get it, universe, it’s time to think about Time Banking.
Time banking is “a mode of exchange that lets people swap time and skill instead of money. The concept is simple: In joining a time bank, people agree to take part in a system that involves earning and spending “time credits.” When they spend an hour on an activity that helps others, they receive one time credit. When they need help from others, they can use the time credits that they have accumulated.” (https://ssir.org/articles/entry/the_time_bank_solution)
More succinctly, time banking is “a system for reciprocal volunteering that uses time as the unit of currency.” (https://www.yourdictionary.com/time-bank)
I’ll be honest, a part of me bristles straight away at the idea of banking time from simply doing good things for others, but I think that might be because I’m used to either being paid money or doing something for free because I care about the cause or the person I’m helping, or because it’s “the right thing to do.”
But what if sharing our capabilities had nothing to do with moral rectitude or relationship bonds?
What if we had a system in place that encouraged us to give of our skills (be they manual, emotional, intellectual, etc.) when we are able, knowing that we can draw on the skills of others when we need help. And not only for “moments of need” - times when we have no money or when we are sick - but just as a general way our community could operate. I could bank time helping someone with yardwork and I could use some of my banked time to get help with my taxes. I could bank time tutoring my friend’s child and then use some banked time for help cooking meals when I find myself unwell.
I could bank time now, when I feel capable and strong, and withdraw from that bank when I’m less able, when I’m older or after surgery or at a difficult time in my life.
To me, a Time Bank would offer something akin to the benefits of a close knit community or family. I help my family when they need it, no questions asked, and they do the same for me. But not everyone is as fortunate as I am to live surrounded by a close family. I live in an area where neighbours help each other plow their driveways, where intergenerational friendships are common, and where extra garden-fresh veggies get dropped on your doorstep without an announcement or even a note to tell you who they are from. Not everyone has that. A Time Bank would encourage this, would allow people to extend themselves in a helping way and also access help when they need it. It would allow us to see that we are all both needed and in need, depending on the circumstance. We are all valuable members of our communities, and we can all lean on support when our time of vulnerability arrives.
I am just putting my thoughts about this into words at this very moment, and I know I’m being clumsy. I hope you’ll join me in this imagining of what could be, as I try to shape my ideas about it. I am very interested in what you, my community, think about the idea of a Time Bank. How would it be useful? What ways could you imagine it working? Is there already something like this happening in your life? What services would you offer if a Time Bank sprung up in your neighbourhood? What would you gladly accept help with?
Today is a good day to imagine the future we want.
xo
Shannon
Upcoming Shows
Saturday Feb 11
Fireside Songs and Stories
I'm thrilled to be hosting a Fireside Songs and Stories Circle as part of the Hibernate Festival this weekend. Join us "fireside” at Dwellissimo from 1-4pm Saturday Feb 11 as local songwriters, poets and storytellers share in an informal setting. Snuggle in, enjoy the stories and songs and some sweet treats that will warm the soul!
Sunday Feb 26
up close & personal: songwriters in the round
An afternoon of original songs and the stories that inspired them
Tickets $20, available here and at the door
Featured Song - Free
I’ve lately been revisiting this song, which I wrote as part of a year-long creative collective with visual artist, poet and writer Katie Hoogendam and multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire and visual artist Saskia Tomkins. We3, as we called ourselves, built a little coven of friendship and art in the thick of lockdowns and loneliness. That tiny community of three changed my life, and the music that came from it helped me find my voice.
”You can be all anybody talks about for centuries
and I’ll be free
oh I’ll be free”