this weekend, i escaped to the mountains in new mexico, this could possibly be the 'antidote' you are looking for (not necissarily running to new mexico, but the entire idea of getting away, preferably to the mountains) here we came into contact with people and stayed in communities that are socially and environmentally aware (and this is just 2 weeks after my trip to the materialistic capital of the world, new york city, the timing and the contrasting which emerged from these two trips are ironic). the low-key-i-could-care-less and completely open minded type of people that typically live in these mountain communities (not the vail or aspen glamorous type) can really inspire us to live simply. i came back with a list of ways to change my entire life :) but more importantly a sense of what simple living really looks like and how the 'i'll get it because i want it and i'll do it because it's easy' society in which we live really adds an unnecissary complexity to life and completely inhibits our ability to enjoy life as it is supposed to be enjoyed and experienced (through relationships, spirituality, nature, humanity...etc..)
so my advice...go to the mountains, camp or even better stay in a hostel (this is where you see incredible communal living, and can talk to inspirational people, and not once sense the presures of a material world) i'm sure that you hate this advice :) but go outside and get away from it all
When I was about 10 my grandfather caught me smoking one of his cigars. He told me to sit right there and that he'd be back in a sec. That sec sucked because I thought that he was getting my dad. Instead, he returned with the cigar box, led me to the small shed by the garden and told me to step inside. He then handed me the box and told me sternly that I couldn't come out until I'd smoked the remaining 24 cigars. Then he shut the door.
Actually I never smoked one of my grandfather's cigars and come to think of it he didn't have a shed by the garden ... or a garden for that matter.
Actually that storie's the premise of a really funny movie with Richard Pryor called "Brewster's Millions".
I'm not so sure the movie's point holds up though, at least the way the movie shows it. Maybe it does. Maybe I need to get to work! Crap I'm late! Why do you do this to me Nathan?!
Hethe you're such a weird guy. I love you though. So I suppose I'm willing to overlook that fact. And yes, I do what I can to distract you from your world of responsibility.
Kate, it would seem that I hall this materialistic world around me everywhere I go.
I've heard that people who take long trips to other countries (3rd world countries) experience somewhat of a reverse culture shock when they return home. There are so many options and so much crap to buy. I wonder if it’s extended periods of time I need away from the western world that I need to embrace. I hate blaming an issue I have with myself on society though.
I agree though Kate. The embracing of a simplistic life is a good starting point.
To bring it all to a head I just moved and as most of us know the fact that we have so much junk is never so apparent to us than we we have to pack it all up.
I suppose I was speaking in metaphor. While I know there are no quick fixes for anything in this world I do believe there are starting points. I do agree with you Brett. A quick fix cannot truly "fix" anything. I would say the desire for quick fixes epitomizes one’s laziness more than anything else.
Contrast is truly beautiful isn’t it? Without materialism the eternal looses it’s value. Without pain, peace becomes cloy. It’s amazing to me how many correlations you can draw from art to the real world around us. Without contrast art fails to move. Fails to speak. Without the tension and release of a climax and a subsequent resolution the intrigue is lost. The desire to discover is left behind.
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this weekend, i escaped to the mountains in new mexico, this could possibly be the 'antidote' you are looking for (not necissarily running to new mexico, but the entire idea of getting away, preferably to the mountains) here we came into contact with people and stayed in communities that are socially and environmentally aware (and this is just 2 weeks after my trip to the materialistic capital of the world, new york city, the timing and the contrasting which emerged from these two trips are ironic). the low-key-i-could-care-less and completely open minded type of people that typically live in these mountain communities (not the vail or aspen glamorous type) can really inspire us to live simply. i came back with a list of ways to change my entire life :) but more importantly a sense of what simple living really looks like and how the 'i'll get it because i want it and i'll do it because it's easy' society in which we live really adds an unnecissary complexity to life and completely inhibits our ability to enjoy life as it is supposed to be enjoyed and experienced (through relationships, spirituality, nature, humanity...etc..)
so my advice...go to the mountains, camp or even better stay in a hostel (this is where you see incredible communal living, and can talk to inspirational people, and not once sense the presures of a material world) i'm sure that you hate this advice :) but go outside and get away from it all
When I was about 10 my grandfather caught me smoking one of his cigars. He told me to sit right there and that he'd be back in a sec. That sec sucked because I thought that he was getting my dad. Instead, he returned with the cigar box, led me to the small shed by the garden and told me to step inside. He then handed me the box and told me sternly that I couldn't come out until I'd smoked the remaining 24 cigars. Then he shut the door.
Actually I never smoked one of my grandfather's cigars and come to think of it he didn't have a shed by the garden ... or a garden for that matter.
Actually that storie's the premise of a really funny movie with Richard Pryor called "Brewster's Millions".
I'm not so sure the movie's point holds up though, at least the way the movie shows it. Maybe it does. Maybe I need to get to work! Crap I'm late! Why do you do this to me Nathan?!
Hethe you're such a weird guy. I love you though. So I suppose I'm willing to overlook that fact. And yes, I do what I can to distract you from your world of responsibility.
Kate, it would seem that I hall this materialistic world around me everywhere I go.
I've heard that people who take long trips to other countries (3rd world countries) experience somewhat of a reverse culture shock when they return home. There are so many options and so much crap to buy. I wonder if it’s extended periods of time I need away from the western world that I need to embrace. I hate blaming an issue I have with myself on society though.
I agree though Kate. The embracing of a simplistic life is a good starting point.
To bring it all to a head I just moved and as most of us know the fact that we have so much junk is never so apparent to us than we we have to pack it all up.
I suppose I was speaking in metaphor. While I know there are no quick fixes for anything in this world I do believe there are starting points. I do agree with you Brett. A quick fix cannot truly "fix" anything. I would say the desire for quick fixes epitomizes one’s laziness more than anything else.
Contrast is truly beautiful isn’t it? Without materialism the eternal looses it’s value. Without pain, peace becomes cloy. It’s amazing to me how many correlations you can draw from art to the real world around us. Without contrast art fails to move. Fails to speak. Without the tension and release of a climax and a subsequent resolution the intrigue is lost. The desire to discover is left behind.
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