Today I want to share a question that was posed recently on an internet forum that I read. The following is an edited version of the original question/statement that was put up for discussion.
“So many people seem to be in such dire straits with health – physical, mental, emotional and monetary problems. Why? Do you honestly think it is normal? I don’t. I think that the world is in melt down.
So much hatred and heartache in the world, the home, the streets and the schools ,these days.
I think that if we could go back to a simpler life of less things and more love and understanding then we would need less drugs for depression, anxiety and emotional related illness.
The word dis-ease is of course a body not at ease, not happy, not content, not reaching its potential and of course we all know the health system is buckling under the weight of diseases.
So why is humanity doing this do you think? We are clever and we do have choices about how we live and how we work and live in our family units and amongst our friends and in our communities and the wider world.
What are people’s agendas? Is progress the be all and end all of humanity, if in the end it only causes destruction? I think that we have gone too far and that it is time to pull back from the vortex we are hurtling towards.”
I found this quite confronting and to be honest, downright depressing. Several people responded and added their view of what was wrong with the world and I could literally feel myself being dragged down.
So I took a dose of my own advice, wrote the following response and immediately felt better.
“There are problems – there have always been problems.
Most of the issues have been thoughtfully identified in preceding posts. (Original forum discussion not copied here).
So, what to do about it? Whinge? Wring our hands? Worry? These are not productive responses and will only drag you into the downward spiral with everyone and everything else.
Take a step back and heed Ghandi, “Be the change you want to see in the world”.
I do not believe that ‘Dropping out’ is a solution. We are essentially a social species and are not wired to live in isolation.
Make small, incremental changes that are sustainable, otherwise you will be overwhelmed and setting yourself up for failure.
Turn off the TV – or at least skip the advertisements
Do not buy magazines
Limit your exposure to news coverage
Shop during conventional hours (Mon-Fri 9-5 and Sat 9-12)
Support businesses that only open during those hours
Turn off your mobile phone/internet for set periods so that you are not connected constantly
Reach out to your neighbours
Give something back to your community – volunteer?
Participate in local activities
Eat simple meals
It is difficult to change the sense of entitlement, constant anger, greediness etc that we see in the world.
TO DO
Practise the sorts of things I have mentioned
Model positive behaviours to your children, family, friends and neighbours
RESULTS
You will feel calmer, more resilient and positive
This may be the first drip of a new flood
If everyone who is concerned about the direction that society is headed makes positive changes we can make a difference. We are the society.”
What do you think? I am genuinely interested in how you view society today. Are we all agents of our own self-destruction? Can we change things or do we need to? Are you perfectly happy with your life and your place in the world at large?
Once I disturbed the ground, I was surrounded by the chickens who were eager to feast on the grubs and other insects which were lurking under the wood. They had a wonderful time turning over the soil and looking for tasty morsels.
This weekend we have built 2 more raised garden beds. One of them is lined with heavy cardboard that I had been saving. Then we piled in a thick layer of dry leaf litter followed by some lawn clippings. We will add more soil, compost and probably some mushroom compost which we will buy locally. These 3 garden beds have been constructed entirely from leftover and salvaged materials.
I started to think about how we manage to use and recycle much of what is generated on our property.
organised castle 