Elspeth and her beloved Nybor
80th Birthday Celebration
Monday, July 12, 2010
Convenience
This morning while I was waiting for some repair work on Harvey, the RV, I heard two of the mechanics talking about the weather - the forecasts have been predicting rain, thunderstorms, high winds, etc. for over a week now, though no rain had yet fallen, only a hot dry wind taunted us.
The conversation was mostly about "convenience"; how "bad" weather during the work day is SO very inconvenient, and the same happening during the night is "more convenient."
It started me thinking about how our culture is based on convenience almost as much as on consumption.
We have "convenience foods" ie, prepackaged, even precooked - just need warming.We have such efficient warming and cooling mechanisms that we never need feel the real weather.
We can move so fast in our cars that 100 miles is just a few hours travel - what if you were walking? How far could you go in a day? How important is your travel?
Having the "convenience" of electric lights allows us to avoid the darkness of night any time we choose, so that sunrise and sunset are no longer valued.
Most of us don't bake the bread we eat, nor make the fire (heat) that cooks it - we don't even know how to grow the grain that will be ground to make bread.
It occurs to me that like a muscle that atrophies from misuse - our inability to live in the world without these "conveniences" is making us flabby, physically, mentally, and, maybe, even spiritually.
Why do we join gyms and health clubs to "work out," go to ski resorts, or to tropical beaches for "recreation." If our lives offered enough physical challenges we wouldn't need to create them artificially.
If we made our own music, told our own stories, danced our own dances, instead of watching someone else do it - how would our lives be enriched?
To chop wood for the winter warms you twice - once when you chop it and then when you sit before a warm fire in cold weather.
When you grow that tomato, even in a pot on the windowsill, it will have a different taste. You tended it. You watched it become. Your food can become more than simply prepackaged anonymous vegetation.
I suggest that seeking out challenges where ever they may be found equals exercise - even if it is metaphorical exercise. Perhaps building our metaphorical muscles will bring us closer to awakening from our psycho-spiritual slumber.
What do you think?
Please share your thoughts.
Until next time....
The conversation was mostly about "convenience"; how "bad" weather during the work day is SO very inconvenient, and the same happening during the night is "more convenient."
It started me thinking about how our culture is based on convenience almost as much as on consumption.
We have "convenience foods" ie, prepackaged, even precooked - just need warming.We have such efficient warming and cooling mechanisms that we never need feel the real weather.
We can move so fast in our cars that 100 miles is just a few hours travel - what if you were walking? How far could you go in a day? How important is your travel?
Having the "convenience" of electric lights allows us to avoid the darkness of night any time we choose, so that sunrise and sunset are no longer valued.
Most of us don't bake the bread we eat, nor make the fire (heat) that cooks it - we don't even know how to grow the grain that will be ground to make bread.
It occurs to me that like a muscle that atrophies from misuse - our inability to live in the world without these "conveniences" is making us flabby, physically, mentally, and, maybe, even spiritually.
Why do we join gyms and health clubs to "work out," go to ski resorts, or to tropical beaches for "recreation." If our lives offered enough physical challenges we wouldn't need to create them artificially.
If we made our own music, told our own stories, danced our own dances, instead of watching someone else do it - how would our lives be enriched?
To chop wood for the winter warms you twice - once when you chop it and then when you sit before a warm fire in cold weather.
When you grow that tomato, even in a pot on the windowsill, it will have a different taste. You tended it. You watched it become. Your food can become more than simply prepackaged anonymous vegetation.
I suggest that seeking out challenges where ever they may be found equals exercise - even if it is metaphorical exercise. Perhaps building our metaphorical muscles will bring us closer to awakening from our psycho-spiritual slumber.
What do you think?
Please share your thoughts.
Until next time....
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