Friday 6 March 2015

Broadcast to the World

Hi Everyone,
I've been exploring: Life-with-TV and Life-Without-TV and It's conclusive. Life without TV is more empowered and enjoyable. Life with TV will tell you what is going on in the world in a very negative manner.

Life without TV still keeps me informed about the world, contrary to my parents beliefs, but I am able to put my own optimistic spin on it.

Let's talk about what's going on in the world. Some buzz words that come to mind are Financial Crisis, presidential nominations, oil crisis, war in ____, refugees in ______, poverty and inequality, racial prejudice, LGBT crimes, crimes against fanatic religious, crimes against people with a different worldview, bombs, hunger, climate change, climate change, climate change, earthquakes, military officials.... That's most of pop news, although occasionally i'll be pleasantly surprised to hear a story about polyamory or on the culture of cannabis users. But the prevailing mindset is broadcasted on TV, and doesn't offer any solutions to the problems, only presents problems.

What I don't hear about, unless I am actively looking for it through a variety of sources, is great science, exploration, options, ways of thinking that are ecologically responsible and changing what's going on. When I discovered permaculture and the culture of ecovillages, I thought I found a great solution. But to put it into practice requires a little bit of time for me.

There is a place in Africa ___insert name of community____ founded by a former rocket scientist. He is from Nigeria and was studying in Stanford and he realized he could help Africans with what he was learning, so he started a palm oil production company that uses its waste to grow mushrooms, and has its own parts shipped in from various places to build machines for pressing palm oil, recycling plastics, making bricks, et cetera. They have a fishery, the waste water is fed through plants that filter it, and the waste water goes through this system and back into the fishery.

There are places all over the world using permaculture principles to enrich the soil, create a sustainable community, and help contribute to a positive effect that humans can have on earth. If people everywhere could be more educated about the alternative lifestyles and systems that can be created, I'm positive we can create a happier, more peaceful, more healthy and harmonious planet. So first I need to acquire all the knowledge I need, then I need to seek out the resources to do this. All this while trying to create a beautiful life for myself and my family.

I am hopeful that there are people out there who are already doing this and have already been doing this for decades. It is my understanding that the human race is going on at its normal rate even though the emergency siren is beeping with all the symptoms we are experiencing. But the crisis hasn't really hit most of the people yet. I have basic knowledge of permaculture and a meager seed bank started, just to prepare for rising food prices and a breakdown and collapse of the-way-things-are. Now, i just became self conscious of the voices in my head calling me paranoid and end-of-world-crazed-hippie.

But think about this: I drive to work every day to watch other people's children and to educate them. All those parents drive a long time to get to their jobs doing abstract, sometimes practical work. They buy bins and bins of unnecessary laundry detergent, and create so much waste. Every week I take my waste bins to the curb side and wonder what's going to happen to all of it. Some of it will go to rolling hills of landfills. Some of it will be recycled to make more plastic bottles to fuel our consumptive habit. All of it is unnecessary.

All of it is hurting the planet and making life on earth unstable.

If we look at the beautiful forests that we like to visit, or our neighborhood full of peaceful, content people, we can easily think there is no threat. There is nothing urgent going on. I guess humans just don't respond unless there is a real, imminent, obvious crisis. We need to see blood, we need to feel fear in order to act.

I don't feel enough fear to call myself paranoid. Sure, i invested in 100$ worth of vacuum sealed seeds and an airtight container. I am taking note of what I want to create, which is gardens and sustainable systems. I'm afraid I'm not moving quick enough, getting sidetracked by all my other desires (such as, to live in the city, to be near my family, to provide a good education for my son, to make enough money to save up for all my grand dreams, to be healthy, happy, and content despite it all...)

So this was basically what I've been wanting to say for a couple weeks now. It's been bubbling beneath the surface as I go throughout my day, as I drive to and from work, as I think about what to do next year when my internship as a montessori teacher is over.

I want to find an ecovillage, or find a montessori teacher job at a place that goes past kindergarten and into elementary years so that my son can get a good-enough, well-rounded education. I want to stop living in an unnecessarily big house, even though I love the garden I've planted around it and the space offers certain benefits and opportunities that I have not yet taken advantage of. (Check! created a meetup group for my basement. LoL!! Might as well try before i leave this place!)

Wish me luck. Tell me what your vision is.