Re: Golden Handcuffs

I feel blessed to like my job and fortunate to have been born in the U.S. but I do feel unfortunate at times to have been born here knowing that by that fact alone, I consume more than 20 times the resources as most people. I am trying to reprogram my thinking to what I need, not what I want, in order to reduce my consumption and impact on the global environment, but this is very difficult to do having been born and raised here. I just about have the wife convinced that the next car is 40 mpg or better or we do not get it. It has helped a great deal to have stopped watching TV and reading papers and magazines for the most part; the "want" factor has diminished greatly.

If I can accomplish doing more with less, maybe I can make a small difference.

I read somewhere at one time that if we live in a house larger the 900 square feet and have 1 car we are not living a sustainable life style; if every one had the same. Could be true; I have worked in countries where I lived with people who made little to nothing... I mean nothing, they bartered what they did have to make things to buy things and lived in nothing more than leaf covered open air structures or houses made with bricks of mud and dung... but these people never failed to offer me a place to lay down on their dirt or a bowl of what ever was in the pot and acted to me like they had everything and what they did have was also mine. Very humbling experience... one trip to McDonalds with the kids would spend more money than these people would see in months.

How do we get so wrapped up in the rat race? How do we learn to live within our means, but remain comfortable? How did these very poor people find happiness with nothing when we have so much, and still want more?

grz
Tweet