Oh, great, two people who are tired and rambling. This should be petty and trite or something!!! (Editorial comment--this is what I do well!)
Is it necessary to CHOOSE between having a hard simple life OR a sophisticated one where we look at Rembrandts, watch movies, meet different people? I'm trying to envision a world where everyone has good health care and decent educational opportunities, clean water and clean air. At that point, is a hearty outdoor life in an unspoiled, peaceful environment lived close to the land such a bad thing? I know I'm romanticizing all this a little, but does a life lived close to the land have to be an illiterate, unexamined one? Can't villages and small towns have theatres, can't efficient public transportation systems provide access to cities with art museums? Perhaps this is exactly what SUSTAINABLE life will need to be in the future!
I realize it is a luxury that I can muse about simplifying my life--obviously if there was no abundance I could not pare it down. I am struck by studies, however that show that once basic needs for healthcare, food, shelter, and financial security have been met, there is no measurable difference in happiness as people become richer and have MORE than that. (Disclaimer: I did not save the study, and do not know its source, or whether there were any ad hominem arguments posed, or whether cause and effect were established.)
Oh, dear, my sense of lack of connection is a CLICHE!! How common!! I think I will try to have something more exotic next time!!!
Seriously, though, most Americans are way in debt--living beyond their means. If we slowed it down, would anyone really notice after awhile? I remember a time when middle-class houses had one tv set, one phone, maybe a stereo, and a car or two. Do we really need more than that? I sure think babies and small children need their mothers at home more than families need status consumer items, as an example of how some of us tend to lose touch with what is important. (Disclaimer: some women cannot handle full-time motherhood, or afford to stay home, and quality child care is available, if not plentiful.)
Well, I'm really rambling now, too, so I'll stop. When you said we share a birthday, do you mean the year or the day? I mean, are we turning geezers at the same time, or are we both fish? |
