Staying Alive; Survival, Adaption & "Going Green"

I was sitting here today looking for replacement water filters for a Brita pitcher, slightly irritated by how a plastic thing full of activated carbon could be so expensive. But the alternative wasn't pretty; you never know what microbes or strange metals are lurking in your water. This really got me thinking though. Survival, and the steps we take to implement it, have changed dramatically since we first roamed this earth. Adaption leads to very interesting courses of action, such as the current cry to "go green".

In a capitalist society, money supposedly equates to survival. But money isn't a guarantee. It can buy you the tools and resources that you need, sure. But only as long as the money has strong value, and the economy's good, and prices aren't force fed protein by inflation. If someone maintains all their basic needs with money, then they are vulnerable to the same highs and lows as the economy. But if a person were really smart, they would try to become as self sufficient as possible; to not be totally dependent on the grid. Take the Green Revolution for example; it doesn't only just aid the planet, but takes away some of your dependence on current utilities & energy sources. Using sunlight for power, collecting rainwater, growing veggies in the backyard; a few ways of increasing self sufficiency. In a way, green techniques reduce the use of money to buy your "needs", leaving more to fund your "wants".

The obvious fact is that survival is about adaption to any situation. The economy is in bad shape; money can't be used as a crutch as often. But what's this? BAM! I can cook pies with sunlight? Filter my own water? Buy local produce? Hell yeah mother nature! But going green has more ties to survival than meets the eye. In good times, like the nineties for instance, jobs were plentiful and people on Wall Street had goofy grins on their faces. Green technology would have been good in itself, but there was simply no perceived need. Everything was hunky dory. As soon as everything began to unravel, then a credible threat to people's standards of living came about. Suddenly, anything that could cut costs looked like it had a holy aura on it. Green tech is just another tool in this process.

So what's the one good tip on survival that could be timeless? Invest in the renewable, and beware of the unstable. What everyone else uses isn't always the best; most of the time there is a better way. What are your thoughts on this? Long, short, rambling; all comments are welcome.

Float

We do it all the time. Floating I mean. Not in the cross legged position on a bamboo rug, but in the rivers of flowing thought and in the light breeze of random ideas. Floating is nice, but we spend too much time floating and not enough with the stability of our feet firmly touching the ground. You and me, we probably have some idea of where we are going, and what we want to do. But it isn't definite. It's like being pushed in one direction by a soft wind instead of the power of our own two feet. We can't control a breeze, but we can change the direction that we walk. But it's difficult. It's easy to let one's self be pushed to an acceptable destination by life. It's a true challenge to will yourself to travel to the right place. And so we float... in our dreams, our hopes, our deepest wishes. But to do that is to be a kite with no one holding the handle. Eventually you and me and everyone else has to come down from the clouds and face what Mr. Reality has to offer. Deals we can't refuse. Deals we can refuse. It's up to us to pick a deal. Or maybe, just maybe, rip up the contract and carve out our own path. One that we have to hike, but at least we hike it out of our own will, and not out of the wishes and wants of other people.

Fishing for an Idea

I woke up today, looked at the ceiling and thought "I will find something worth writing about." My eyes scanned the blue green walls of the room; a finger or two doing a drum solo on the desk. Blinds opened part way; letting in sunlight and a temporarily serene view. Temporary, because the lusty growl of a lawnmower shattered the silence.

As the day progressed, my mind struggled to create that brilliant writing idea. The sun beat down on weary souls forced to navigate the neighborhood streets. Maybe an infusion of fresh air would cleanse my brain? Three steps out the door; breathe through the nose, out through the mouth. Anything new? Nah.

How about television? The screen treats me to a scene of a war movie. Lets ride the channel surf; drama, comedy, reality show... I realized that my brain had probably prematurely aged during this time. Power off.

10 P.M. The sun had gone to give a hug to the other side of the world. My mind weary from searching, I looked at the single lamp illuminating the room. And then I see it. A notebook; it's covered in a fine film of dust. I had finally realized my folly.

Good ideas can't be found. Epiphanies don't appear from flooding your brain with endorphins or being inspired by a outdoor gear commercial. Ideas just don't show up when your try to scour for them with radar. This post... written in that neglected notebook. Writing naturally let that innate creativity flow outwards; staring at a computer screen brought me nowhere. I'm used to being methodical; society demands efficiency and aggressiveness to solve problems. But the lack of an idea wasn't a problem. I was gently reminded that when it comes to creativity, you just gotta let it be.

Thriving on Chaos?

Peace, harmony and an olive branch. If you asked most people, they would probably say that those are wonderful things to strive for. But in the midst of all this, something has been poking at my mind for awhile now. We always seem to do what is counter productive to our ideals. We want to be happy, yet we stay in the same state and do the same things that we know keep us unhappy. People will persist in keeping bad relationships alive, stay in the same unfulfilling jobs, and keep tuning in to the same depressing news; accepting it all with little protest. Will there be complaints? You bet. But actual action? Not for awhile. Very few of us are just magically born with the ability to take pre-emptive strikes towards change. And then we come to that simple word; change. What is it about change that strikes fear into the minds of so many?

I tried to imagine a world without a shred of conflict. No wars or dissent. No natural disasters or economies going kablooey. That is what we all want... isn't it? But I don't think so. I think there is something about chaos that forces us to act. We all would love to change something, but the biggest fear is what would actually happen if that change came about. I don't think it's peace we want, but understanding. I desperately want to understand the world and it's people, and why we act the way we do. Why we fight endless wars. Why we have big stockpiles of nukes in the event that we are attacked by our own kind. Why people who seem to have everything they could ever want are still unhappy and looking for that missing piece...

When the peoples of the world understand each other, they will no longer need a reason to point their weapons across oceans. There will always be disagreements, dissent, and chaos. We can never change or grow without them. But there is a difference between learning from the chaos, or getting swept up in it. It's not world peace we want; peace is temporary until the next shot is fired, whether that bullet is verbal or made of metal. We need global understanding. To use our differences to improve the magnifying glass that we have put on our biggest questions since man first put pen to paper.

Introducing Voice Posts!

Hello everyone, G. here. Just wanted to say that I've finally figured out how to add voice posts for Thoughts of G. There will now be an audio player at the end of most posts that I do. If you have any comments or suggestions, I would love to hear them! I've recorded a little something here already as a test. Anyways, have a good one.

"Trust" by G.

Trust is an interesting concept. Interesting, because the only person you can trust with your life is yourself. Sounds pessimistic? Perhaps. But people don't make it in this world by being gullible. The rarity of finding someone very trustworthy makes trust a very valuable treasure. Being able to trust someone reveals much about that person. A person resistant to temptations, to weakness; a mind that carves out it's own choices. So why do I write about trust? No tangible reason other than to give a friendly reminder. I'm certainly no saint; perfection is an impossible goal. But when you lose trust with someone, a cord of friendship or loyalty that took hard time to create becomes severed. It sometimes feels like lies have become their own language; a dialect that wreaks havoc when the words are finally deciphered. Trust breeds loyalty; loyalty that will attract people to your side when others would flee.

On a lighter note, do you think Trust is a one time deal, or that it's possible to trust someone absolutely? Love to hear your thoughts on this.

Sir's Random Dashes of Inspiration - Renascent ~ Part 3

Aaaaaand part 3.

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And then you came along. You, with knowledge of the woods, the surroundings. You, with knowledge of life as a hunter, life as prey and life as something so impressive yet so vulnerable. Your gleaming eyes and your sharp teeth, your wild brown fur and your pointed claws. As soon as I saw you, I knew. I knew you were destined to guide me, to be my guardian in this forest, appointed by the very forest itself. Your vision shall be my compass; your intellect and knowledge, my map; your might and agility, my shield.

I then gazed upon you and knew we’d be connected forever, bound as companions on a tiresome journey are. I would help you carry out your quest as you would help me complete my search for truth.And so, we set off with light hearts and steps on a random trail, while trying to think of ways to communicate, since we were so different…

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No more images, guys, sorry! Takes too much time to come up with :(