Finite resources

I was watching the toddler

Looking at family pictures 

As she is want to do

And she sits and points out toys we no longer own

And I start to think that if we had all 14 years of toys amassed

We would need several rooms dedicated to the task

And we are by no means a family of affluence

So how can it be

That we are so engulfed into this consumerism 

When I think I take an active stance against it. 

I know the earths resources are finite. 

Yet I wish we hadn't spiraled so out of control

I wish they made toys that lasted 

And electronics that weren't meant to be replaced every few years

I think people know this intuitively

Yet. Stress. Convenience. Selfishness. Disregard

Has led people to behave as if this should be normal 

As if individually packaged goods with tons of inserts and plastic 

Is a good thing. 

I don't understand completely and yet I feel compassion

For a society that has led itself down this path willingly

As consumers

And producers have complied 

And those that fight the tide and have been fighting it

Are sometimes seen as outcasts

For not towing the line

Following the status quo

It's sad really. 

To think that each of us individually

Could be doing so much in just our simple daily lives

In simple unobtrusive ways

To make the world a better place

And yet. We succumb to the grand illusion that nothing we do matters

That what we waste is ours for the wasting 

And as I try in my small way to recycle

To pass on usable goods

To buy used whenever possible

To use reusable containers as much as convenient and possible

To make my own difference

Without living completely without

I wonder

Why?

Why have we grown to believe that which simply is not true

To whose benefit is it for us to believe this?

I don't have the answer for that. 

I just know. We have to take these blinders off

We have to see how each thing we do and speak 

Even what we think

Makes a drastic difference in the world 

Not just our world

The entire world

Things must change

Resources must be conserved

Earth must be appreciated and preserved

As best we possibly can 

And we have to do this

Before we destroy it

Completely. 

Email exchange with friend

So this is verbatim an email exchange I just had yesterday with a friend. I share it not to toot my horn in any fashion, but to show the frailty of life. How easily we can go from thinking we have it all to utter demise. The fall isn't that far for most of us, even if it is a great one.

Friend:

its the same story as always has been and will always remain the same.  the things that used to make happy no longer have the same impact so you emptily chase them trying to hold on to some form of joy that used exist inside of you...but its not the same anymore as you look around and see how utterly transparent the corruption and manipulation is how pathetic this little bubble weve been allowed to live in.  i feel like my life is basically hanging by this precarious little thread. no assets, no retirement, granny aint handing me her extra house in her will. no security.  all we are is slaves for the ultra rich.  all the big "Murrican" talk of bootsraps and hard work and all that shit is nothing but a sales pitch. our options are limited, not endless. sure you can study and work and hustle for half or most of your life and maybe end up rich or with a good job. maybe. but that aint no fucking  dream of mine and sure as hell isnt no blessing that life is supposed to be.  pretty sorry blessing if you ask me. so you go to bars and smoke pot and eat xanax and go to the gym to try and feel good. but it doesnt work.  so you become emptier and meaner until you forget how you ever laughed...and then you go get banned from bars ...and after you've been sucked dry by the machine, you realize just how easy it is to end up living under the freeway.  or you can pretend this isnt all a giant pile of shit and life is great. puke.

Me:

Life is shitty.  It definitely can be. And anyone can catch some unlucky breaks. For sure.

But I do believe happiness and peace is attainable if you look within yourself to find it. Not depend on any outside factors for it. You can't go chasing happiness. Sooner or later it simply won't be able to be caught. Like you're seeing for yourself. You have to foster happiness deep within yourself. If for no other reason then to live whatever time we are given to live here on earth as centered and at peace with ourselves and through these two things inevitably as happy as we can. As content as possible. It's not exactly fireworks and cocaine. But everything outside of yourself means nothing if you can't find happiness and peace within yourself first.

So. Nurture that. Whatever you have to do to be happy being "You". To live in complete acceptance of yourself. Faults and strengths. That's what you have to look at.

And that's the toughest battle of them all. But it's the only path you have left really.

I could be utterly naive.  It's possible, maybe even probable. My life is a constant lesson in humility. I'm not sure anymore about much. So I stick with what I know now to be true.  It helps me and I hope it helps others. I do feel if one allows themselves to be at peace and happy; then one exemplifies a belief system stronger than any allegory can provide and it gives people the courage and permission to aim for that as well.