A few weeks ago I wrote about Hudson Valley Current, a complementary, labor-backed currency that is being developed in my region.  I have been getting paid by one of my clients in currents fairly regularly since, but it wasn't until this week that I finally got around to spending some of them.  And wasn't I surprised to discover that I was doing business with another Pagan!

The current marketplace is still small; many of my fellow users aren't yet explicitly advertising their services, so it can be tricky to find something to spend them on.  The staff behind the currency is not only working on expanding that market, they are also in the business of keeping the currents flowing by matching up people with a whole pile with others who have services that they could use.  Knowing that there's a limit to how many currents I may hold, I have been accepting them to force myself to find ways to use them.  I want this currency to succeed, because it will help me understand money all the better to be in on the creation of a new form of it.

The first time is always the scariest.  After a lot of searching, I found a vendor who sells nature-based cleaning agents of her own concoction.  A few messages were exchanged through the site as we compared schedules, and we finally agreed to meet at a crossroads one summer evening to seal the deal.  I arrived at the place moments before the appointed hour, and my eyes fell upon the station wagon parked there, replete with a "Tree Hugging Dirt Worshiper" bumper sticker, and the woman within.  Likely because of that bumper sticker, I felt an immediate connection, and a clear understanding that there were deeper reasons for me to meet her at this crossroads this evening.

When I arrived home, I transferred the appropriate currents into her account, and tried out the new cleaner.  Eat your heart out, Simple Green, this stuff is really good!