I get a lot of comments from readers. One recent one was about going more in depth on some of the topics. That has always been my goal and my blog posts tend to build on previous ones. Indeed, regular readers will note that I often refer back to previous blog posts by the title of the blog. Rather than just talk off the top of my head, I try to bring a topic to life and make it more applicable to what we need to do to transform our cultures and societies to ones that are sustainable, fairer, and equitable. As always, if you wish to talk with me more on a topic just scroll down the blog home page for my email contact.
The problem isn’t me. It isn’t you. Nor is it those folks over there. The problem is we. The big we, humanity: What we believe, how we live, how we relate to one another and Earth. We have gotten something terribly wrong that we must now get right. But what? Do we even agree on the problem?… It is deeply deflating to realize just how much of what we call Western civilization is built on deceptions: The myth of the lone individual; the myth of freedom without responsibility for our neighbor; the myth that societies built on the exploitation of people and nature are advanced civilizations morally superior to the peoples they devastate; the myth that rule by the richest among us is a form of democracy.And also, our society is built on the myth that our well-being is enhanced by institutions, technologies, and infrastructure that substitutes financial transactions for caring relationships, isolates us from one another to the point that too many of us live alone, moving us in single-person cars, and encouraging us to buy whatever we need from Amazon.com with no need for contact with another living being. As we celebrate our “freedom,” we wonder why mental health declines and suicides grow. David Korten – A living Earth Economy.
In the last two posts I talked about ‘free-will’ and how most of us do not exercise it, instead just going with the flow for fear of rocking the boat. David Korten, in the quote above, emphasizes what I have talked a lot in this blog, about how we have disengaged from each other. The myth of the socio-cultural story that keeps us locked into a life that very few of us think is that great. I often joke with friends that people would rather be rich and in misery rather than poor and in misery and to some degree that can seem reasonable. An interesting feature of the USA at this time is the political game being played out in Washington, D.C. – the partial shutting down of government services. Of course, partial means only the Congressional Representatives and Senators still get paid since they are supposed to carry on making laws and policy to keep the country moving along. Essential services of course have to work unpaid (with the promise of backpay) while the politicians play with peoples’ livelihoods and threaten the ability of many to find their next meal and keep a roof over their heads. And this in what most people consider the ‘wealthiest’ country in the world. If that isn’t a wonderful reminder of how the system is controlled by the uber-elites, demonstrating just how fragile this ‘democracy’ we consider normal really is, then perhaps it ought to be. When a country is controlled by the elites, then it is not a democracy, but a feudalistic corporatocracy as it currently exists. Of course, at the top of this steep sided pyramid sit the uber-elites (the Cabal) pulling the strings of those we think we elect to manage our system on our behalf.
If you think you have freedom, how many of you would, or could, actually walk away from your jobs at a moments notice. In the westernized world (that many in the developing countries envy for some reason – the selling of the myth) some people crack under the strain of modern living. If they do not jump out of a high window or walk in front of a train, these people often find themselves facing destitution, and then when that settles in find something unique that they never realize they had lost, a new sense of freedom. The chains that bind us are the myths we buy into that keep us stuck in the lifestyle we think we must maintain. I’m not advocating poverty, but look around at what you find ‘essential’ in your lives and note how many you could actually do without if the advertising suddenly ended tomorrow and you no longer felt the need to impress people with your monetary wealth and all the ‘stuff’ you have.
Many years ago, I spent four weeks walking across the Arctic National Wildlife Preserve – a huge wilderness in far northeastern Alaska – and had to carry everything I needed on my back. What quickly became obvious at the end of each day was whether I was warm enough, managed to stay dry, had shelter, and if I had enough food to satisfy myself for the day. Well, I had a tent, a warm sleeping bag, and my raingear, but the food calculations, while good for a week away in the wilderness didn’t seem to work for the four week trip. All the effort of hiking and the need to carry all our food (no living off the land), we were not satiated and finished the trip having rationed ourselves accordingly. We were not starving, but calories used versus calories eaten each day were insufficient. To many in the developing countries, this is merely a game that the wealthy play to remind themselves how well-off they are. After all, after the four weeks were done, we could just fly back to our wealthy normality. To more than 2 billion people in the world, the realities of daily living are a continuous guessing game of whether there will be food for the next month, next week, or even for the next day. And the crazy reality is that we have enough food for everyone in the world to more than meet their daily needs, but that isn’t the problem is it? – the scarcity system we take for granted creates the scarcity. While I was already spiritually awakened to the global illusion I was living within the USA, my friends on the trip recognized just how much we take for granted. I am telling you this story, not to make you feel bad or to recommend going off into the wilderness, but to try and help you recognize for yourself what is truly important.
What do you really need? What do you think you want? And what do you perceive that is missing from your life? Think about this for the next few days. Be honest with yourself – separate needs from wants – what do you need to be your authentic self? I will be delving more into what we must do to begin the transition and to manifest a new society that cares for everyone.
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