It was 30 years ago on October 13, 1992 that I returned from Jerusalem completing a 3 month vision quest and vocational journey to explore the question: What does God want me to do next in my life as an economist? That journey started in Stockholm delivering a paper on ecological economics, a journey through Germany and Austria (my father's and grandfather's homelands), Rome and Assisi, then an epic sail boat journey down the Nile in Egypt to the ancient Egyptian sites. Little did I know that my arrival in the ancient city of Jerusalem would change my life forever. It was in the Old City, where I spent two weeks in prayer and reflection, that I felt a deep calling to 'build a civilization and economy of love.' That journey continues 30 years later. Love I believe is the foundation of all our lives. Love is who we are. Love created us. In our current state of the world, following a global pandemic and now a protracted economic crisis and an unnecessary war in the Ukraine, the message that a civilization of love is both possible and within our capacities to manifest is more urgent than ever.

Thanks for listening to my life story!

Mark Anielski