The Good Life

“One thing that sets many anarchists apart from other revolutionaries is the belief that the revolution is not a grand apocalyptic moment that we must wait for. The revolution exists in every moment of our lives. When I get up in the morning and spend my day deliberately doing things that please me, when I strive to live instead of merely existing, that is the revolution happening.”  -Monkey-

There is an assumption in the U.S. that to have is good and to have more is better.  There is the assumption that to have a job is better than to have not and to have a high paying job is necessarily better than a low paying job.  To own a house is better than renting, two cars makes you more successful than one.  This assumption in my opinion is the force driving the destruction of our planet and so many of its amazing life forms.  Rather than soaking in experiences, encounters with people and other organisms, we crave gluts of physical adornments.  We drill, mine and strip land of everything to clothe ourselves and our egos.  We build houses large enough for 5 people for only 1 0r 2.

I also believe over-consumption is a force destroying so called consumers.  Overwork, over eating and stress are killing us and they’re all so contrary to living a good life.

This isn’t about being a dirty Hippie (although that may be a good description of me).  This isn’t about politics.  You don’t even have to vote.  This is about living outside of prescribed ways of doing things (if you find that’s the way you can live most authentically as yourself).  I am saying that we should consider our lives by things like true happiness, social and environmental awareness and openly accepting that buying things is often the shortcut to really doing things the right way.

I’m saying the good life is being mindful of yourself in context of the world around you and reaching out for authentic relationships with other people, other organisms and even things.

I’m babbling but mainly what I’m (incoherently) trying to say is live life today and enjoy being deeply and you’re probably starting down a path towards creating a better life for others as well.