America has mortgaged its future to maintain the symbols of personal freedom (the house, the car, the big screen TV) at the expense of real freedom. We owe China almost one trillion dollars; our public education system is approaching collapse; and, we rank number one globally for our obesity rate, with more than a third of our adult population being technically obese. America's current understanding of freedom is unsustainable and raises the question, "Are we really free?"....We need to identify new enemies of freedom, create a new list of evidence, and make a new declaration that will guide us for the next 100 years. Steve McCallion
Sometimes life's bigness can be overwhelming. There is so much to do. Wars to end. Greedy capitalists to bring down. Clean energy to pursue. People to feed. Laws to change. Bureaucrats to punish. Gardens to grow. Relationships to repair. Races to run.
Yesterday I opted to take care of some of the items on my voluminous list of things to do. This, instead of watching a baseball game, waving a plastic flag at the parade and creating a calorie imbalance.
So I chose two that are important to me and set out to improve the one thing that I can immediately and effectively control, my thoughts and actions. My freedom. My choices. At the most basic level I know, home.
I worked on my passive-solar, self-composting toilet. And in between the framing for this water-saving next step towards self sufficiency (steps I have been taking since 1974), I improved the other thing I can control, my health and fitness. So once in the morning I ran the hilly 4 miles surrounding the cabin and then again at noon. The plan was to do this three times, but by six, I was gassed. Wimp.
All day I thought about the connection of capitalism to democracy. Of how we have wandered so far off the path, with or without GPS. I thought about Mr. Obama and General (ret) McCrystal, about Bill Gates and Fidel Castro. About Rolling Stone and free speech. About light sweet crude, pelicans and FoMoCo. Terrance McKenna, Alan Watts, Noam Chompsky, Sarah Palin, Sam Walton and Allan Greenspan. About Thomas Jefferson and Dick Cheney. About Me & My Uncle.
I suppose that is the life, the liberty and the pursuit of happiness we were all celebrating yesterday. Those are some big concepts. Sometimes in that bigness we can lose sight of the forest. Too many tall cedars and firs surrounding the happiness trail. We are guaranteed the attempt, not the prize. You can have the road, but not the goal. Silly us to think different. The 1975 Candy Apple Red Mercedes 450 SEL will help you get there, friend. Just sign here.
I have happiness. It is here and it is now. There is nothing to pursue, not a dream to chase or a symbol to buy. The road IS the goal. Is my water savings going to change the world? No. Is my fitness going to set a new world record? No.
But I think it helps. It's manageable and empowering. I can do it today and it makes me feel good. Like I am a part of Mr.Harris' solution, not a part of the problem.
But I sure like that car.
6 comments:
You pointed it out the other day, when you mentioned a massage session where the initial pain was the left knee but the masseuse started on your right arm.
The ah-ha moment came with the awareness that it's all connected.
On more than one level, things that matter are more connected than ever before.
Indeed. A reality hammered home every time I decide to drive the Exploder instead of riding my bike. It's funny how much better I feel in the saddle than behind the wheel.
Ah, but that Mercedes......
So are we saying, then, that I was being more patriotic in exercising my individual freedoms rather than joining in a parade? And that I am obligated (by being a voting taxpayer) to call for detailed attention to the blights of this capitolistic imbalance in our democracy?
Or should I just shut up go for a ride, thinking that things are fine, or would be if I had a bigger TV?
And lastly, I am never quite sure if my growing number of ah-ha moments are as a result of new ideas, or old paradigms evolving.
Thanks for your comments FW.
About freedoms, it is good to exercise (both meanings intended).
About obligations, it is good to meet them.
About riding, it is better to ride with fenders when the road is wet.
About awareness, that is what happens upon awakening.
Where do you park that Mercedes?! In your garage?! Wasn't Alan Watts a radical Buddist? I see you have Noah Chomsky on top of Sarah Palin.
My thought was that IF I had Debbie's beautiful 450 I would build a suitable storage site. Alan Watts would say build the garage first and the car will follow. I feel dirty even putting Naom in the same sentence with Ms Palin, let alone atop. Radical Buddhist, interesting oxymoron.
maybe, but for some reason buddha always gets pegged as a radical because in the end he just sits by the river. I agree, with a big enough garage one can do anything.
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