DREAMS, VISIONS AND UNLIKELY FUTURES
We have approximately 6,000 million years worth of consuming, building, wasting and general living to do before our sun goes nova. We have seen exponential growth in almost every area of life in the last 100 years. How can we change course to a lifestyle that is sustainable for the years ahead?
The mindless game that the goods producers and marketing men are playing must be obvious to everyone now. Buy. Consume. And do it, Forever....
To survive in the long term we must disconnect from their game plan.
A Low Maintenance Lifestyle solution consists of several integrated elements:
i. The self-created pursuit of a low maintenance lifestyle
ii. Government support and underpinning of a 'Be All You Can Be' culture
iii. Introduction of a country-wide 'Citizens Entitlement Grant'
iv. Resource release from all subsequently redundant government agencies
v. A planetary community
i. The self-created pursuit of a low maintenance lifestyle
This is the oldest form of lifestyle on the planet. Through it, everything possible was used to aid survival. Energies were used wisely and nothing was wasted. If these principles were not adhered to you died. It was as simple as that.
We are realising that we are not immune to these realities, that we were fed an illusion of security in order to make us buy. This dream-state is rapidly turning into a nightmare. Now it is starting to become very real to us that, just like the ancients, we too must survive the future.
This is the broad background to the long history of low maintenance lifestyles.
In the modern world there are several possibilities available to us that were unavailable to the ancients:
Use the collective energy as focused through government to provide the basic essentials for your daily survival.
Seek to maximise Being as opposed to Doing and Having.
Organise the communal use of tools to maximise utility and to minimise waste.
The essence of a Low Maintenance Lifestyle is: Buy Less Goods
The cycle we are on now is that we must buy ever increasing numbers of goods to keep everyone employed so that they are able to buy ever increasing numbers of goods and so on ad infinitum.
The final product is of course everyone owning everything on a concrete planet and feeling totally miserable.
Madness! Yet that is the future we are facing. The politicians call endlessly for 'More growth. More growth.' But we can already see and feel what is growing all aound us. We already feel sick of this modern world with its stress, greed, criminality and selfishness. Do we want another 6,000 million years of that?
The marketing men want to fill you with the obsession to have. They want you to be filled with longing for their products. They want you to be endessly dissatisfied with what you already have. They want you to be in a state of constant longing for satiation and to never achieve it.
Keep in mind:
Most of the true happiness you ever find has little to do with possession.
Most true happiness is gained by useful co-operation with others.
Points ii, iii & iv would begin to weaken the hypnosis of the mass marketers:
ii. Government support and underpinning of a 'Be All You Can Be' culture
iii. Introduction of a country-wide 'Citizens Entitlement Grant'
iv. Resource release from all subsequently redundant government agencies'
and, long term:
v. A planetary community
All first four elements above contain the essential ingredients for a sustainable life for the indefinite future. There is no avoiding the fact that government will have to be the agency which creates any reform. We and our immediate ancestors have transferred almost all real power to this agency - so now it must work for us and for the (almost) endless generations to come.
Element ii. is easiest to achieve - but it would need to be constant and deeply integrated into every area of government policy - from education to conditions of work.
Elements iii., iv. & v. are the essence of how the future can be survived.
The largest change involves a move to a 'citizen's entitlement grant'.
I believe every citizen deserves the basic wherewithall to live a decent life. The only agency available to control such a task is government. We all know that the resources are now available on this planet to do it.
In outline, my idea is that when an individual is born an interest bearing account is set up automatically. The amount would be sufficient to cover the basic essentials of life such as: food, medical treatment, decent, warm and weather-proof housing, education and enough left over to build a decent life.
How would such a costly exercise be funded?
That is where point iv. comes in - resource release. In a long transfer process (changing horses, very tricky!) once citizens have the resources to live automatically supplied, then government can start to close all its offices dealing with unemployment benefit, health and social security and many many other departments.
Jobs have almost always been pretty soul destoying - we need to change our whole focus from having and doing (producing and having) to being. So, the grant would mean you didn´t have to work. If you wanted to work you would still receive the grant - this leaves the incentive to those still addicted to having in the future. (The rest of us would perhaps look on from our loungers and smile pityingly as they continued their mad dash to oblivion!)
The theory doesn´t even sound easy in outline does it?! But this is only a very rough outline. It wouldn´t be at all easy and there would be lots of problems like : What about the people who don´t use the money for the necessities but spend it all on booze or drugs? That´s one of the toughest ones - it´s possible to visualise a perfect system but usually the people within it have to be perfect too!
But something needs to change. At the moment we are certainly on the road to hell.
v. A planetary community
This is a vision for a better future planet-wide. Winning a decent life for all people. Resource planning & redirecting ( not the communist way) The whole world focussed on being and playfully communicating - sharing ideas, songs, dance, stories, experiences - a harmony of being. Pie in the Sky. Yes, but 'old' ideas such as compassion, love and mutual respect are about all that can save us now.... Connection, communication and cooperation.
We are all here together. On this beautiful island world.
Shouldn't we begin to BE that way?
Shouldn't we start to work together for a future with less work, less money, less stuff - and more ... life? A system which, unlike the present one, has a decent chance of being sustainable for the next 6,000 million years...
The Next Steps To A New World
There's a decision to be made,
are we one world or not?
Can we forever leave one part rich,
and the other near forgot?
I know that we give aid,
and some feel we give a lot
But so often there's strings attached,
or some leader has been bought
For this world's troubles
there has to be a cure
But us forever consuming
is not it, that's for sure!
We know communism failed
and the totalitarian states
But I don't see capitalism
filling those empty plates
It's going to take something new
to really make a change
No drop of aid or hand-out
can hope to re-arrange
If we keep polluting
there will be no Earth at all
Not one that we can live in
Not one where we stand tall
It must come down to sharing
and to the greater priorities
Otherwise I see destruction,
more death and disease
The juggernaut of the markets
frame our every day
Buying and selling commodities,
gambling made to pay
Can this truly be the answer
to nurture our beautiful lands?
Are the priorities not health and happiness?
That, each person understands?
Must we get rich and richer?
While the majority get less and less?
What kind of a world are we headed for?
I'm sure you can guess
A world of cold competitors,
seeing everyone as foe
As he and she grab all that's going,
and screw the innocent so
A world of proud elites
who look down on the rest
Cold-hearted greedy souls
who preen they are 'the best'
Is that the world we wanted?
The one our parents fought so hard for?
Were their dreams of a world united
just illusions post-war?
No, I don't think so!
They were more than that!
They believed in something better,
not the fattest now more fat
Crunch time is coming
Now the others want their share
China and India are growing,
they don't think it's fair
That we now start complaining
that they're using too much fuel
That they begin to grow too fast,
to our interests this is cruel
We are approaching an impasse,
with life held cheap and cheaper still
If we don't change before too long
be sure that nature will
The answer is a united world,
before it's too late
By actions unselfish and sharing,
the future cannot wait
As one world composed of many
we have a common wish it's true
Happiness for our people,
and it all begins with you
One world to be and share in,
to celebrate this life,
to forward honest action
and to put an end to strife
Conflict over resources
is what we're facing here
Unless we do less consuming
there's no route out of here
We already share one planet,
let's do it in thought and deed
If we don't there's no Earthly future
no matter what our creed
Here we are all TOGETHER
Let's be it and feel it, true
We have this one world before us,
the next steps are up to you...
Rainbow Nations Hand In Hand
Rainbow nations
An alternate vision
Diversity in love
Not cold derision
A celebration of difference
Not a uniform crowd
Freedom to celebrate
To tell it out loud
Nationalism gone
As a tired old rant
Elite arrogance lost
and patriotic sycophant
A wonderful joy
No embittered nag
Saluting true freedom
Not a colorful rag
Rainbow nations
Reach across Earth
Hand in hand
In music, in mirth
Gone the tyrants
with disapproving faces
Gone the lectures
from conservative places
A rainbow world
in equal respect
One world in freedom
No one to reject
Connections built
No bigots, no race
A true civilisation
with welcoming face
Rainbow people
in every shade
All cultures respected
kaleidoscope parade
No religious doctrine
seen as better than rest
No rights lost to tyrants
by lies suppressed
Rainbow minds
create beautiful dreams
A world joined as one
but stitched with NEW seams
Bright and joyful
we leave a sad past
Newborn in peace
FREE AT LAST
Everyone Has Their Utopia
Utopia. We all have our own ideas
of what this short word means
Joy and love forever?
the answering of our dreams
For some it is God's will be done
Or the end of all we know
For others it's heaven right here on Earth
that makes our spirits glow
For others still it's Shangri-La,
a time lost long ago
Or a pristine Atlantis,
over which the waves now flow
We all have our Utopia,
a better life which we seek
For me it's something just out of reach,
the protection of the weak
A world where sense and not politicians rule
Where laws are just and true
A more caring, fine and honest place
Without the cynical political tool
Whatever your concept of Utopia
There's one thing I know is very true
That in your deepest heart of hearts
There it glows, the very best of you.
By KANEIX
© 2008 KANEIX
(All rights reserved)
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