"Trying to hang on to anything positive in a world that has become so negative, becomes a full-time job."
Have you ever just listened to the conversations around you or listened to a single 30 minute newscast? It seems that no matter where you turn, the negativity is creeping into society like an errant leak that hasn't been detected. Between the news, and typical conversations, you hear complaints, ranting, raving, and general negativity. People complain about their lives, their jobs, their spouses, their kids, the schools, politics, their neighbors, the price of things, etc...you get the picture. Very rarely to do I hear of anyone actually DOING something about any of it! Why, has become my mantra, of sorts! Why, are people not fixing what they see as a problem? Why, are people not taking action to the outcomes they are looking for? In my humble opinion, most people are afraid. Whether it's a fear of change, a fear of stepping outside that destructive box of negativity and going against the mainstream, or just an overall fear of the unknown.
I know many people that when I mention changing whatever is not working for them, the response is immediate, and always the same: "no way, I am not going to step away from this or that. I am not going to look bad because this is what everyone else is doing, so it must be right and I just have to deal with." I am going to apologize ahead of time, because I know I am going to offend many! I am calling those who believe or think like this, out! These thoughts, these reactions, and this crap; are the exact reason that so much of society is so negative.
We are a society that has been buffaloed into believing that, society is a "one size fits all." Seriously! If the issues causing all the negativity were clothing, and we were expected to wear "one-size fits all," there would be a lot of wrongly dressed people! Think about it. How many people actually fit into those "one size fits all," clothing?! Why on Earth, should society be a "one size fits all?"
You have school systems set up to teach a "one size fits all," curriculum. You have entire subdivisions set up for "one size fits all," with the HOA's and regulations on a home YOU bought, you have a job to pay for that house that you rarely get to enjoy, you get married knowing that through the religious belief - it's supposed to be "until death due you part," but through the judicial system it's a division of property, a signature, and a court date away from divorce. You pledge your life to one person, only to find out that that one person isn't the one for you. We are led to believe that raising our children takes a village, but that's just not true. It really takes 2 parents, working together with the same values, morals, and beliefs. It takes a steady, firm, and forgiving discipline to teach those kids right from wrong, respect, and honesty. We hear so many complaining about our political system, and yet, the same politicians continue to be elected. We complain about the price of food, and groceries; but few are stepping up to grow their own. I can't help but wonder when our society became so dependent and needy!
If you research, just a little, what life was like after the Great Depression; you find so many useful tips to live a life that is simple. A life that does not revolve around consumerism. When did it start to make sense, that it was ok to spend more money that you made? Our society has become broke, poor, sickly, uneducated, unskilled, and seriously lacking common sense.
I do not claim to know all the answers, I do not claim to have life or society figured out, but I also do know that the track society, as a whole is on, is not sustainable! How many people today, would know what to do(let alone know how) if the power grid went down indefinitely? Would you know how to take care of yourself or your family? Do you realize that if the power grid goes down, that would mean no power, no water, no cell phones, no television, no real communication unless you have people close. Would you be able to handle a week, month, or year without all your modern conveniences? Most newer vehicles couldn't even function if the power grid went down! Would you know how to forage for food, would you know how to grow your own food, would you know how to barter, would you know how to filter whatever water you could find so it could be drank? I would be willing to be that 90% of Americans could not and would not be able to handle that. Obviously, this would be worst case scenario, but never-the-less, it's something to think about.
I catch a lot of flack for the life style my husband and I live. It's very simple and so much less materialistic than most. Anyone who reads these blogs, knows our life. It's a small homestead, in the middle of nowhere, getting by(barely sometimes) with one income, home school, holistic health, and trying to leave as little of a footprint on Mother Earth as possible. Myself, I would love to be more self-sustaining. I would love to say we don't have any modern conveniences...but that's just not realistic. We have power, rural water, vehicles, internet, computers, gaming systems, and tractors. However, we do not use chemicals(when we can avoid them), we use holistic medicine, we grow as much of our food as possible, we have livestock that provides our meat. We teach our children at home, and we question everything. We are not a family that just blends into the mainstream mold.
We love our life. I love showing my children how to raise or grow their own food. I love teaching them lessons that will help them in their adult lives. I love teaching them how to care for their illnesses with foods and herbs. Don't get me wrong, there are days when I just want to throw my hands in the air and say, "I GIVE UP!" I was not raised that way though. I was raised to stand proud when I believed in something...even though as a child, I'm pretty sure my parents would rather have had me be more passive. I was raised to do what I felt was right. I was raised that no matter how difficult life was, giving up was never an option. I live by the lessons my parents taught me so many years ago, and we are raising our children by those same lessons today.
When I hear so many complaining about everything under the sun, I just want to ask them, "so, what are you going to do about." I know I have days when I complain about everything, but I have done something about the issues I had. Even when I may have bad days, the choices we have made about our life, have been what allowed us to step out of the constant complaining stage. The choices we have made, meant living a simple life so that we could kind of survive on one income, not have to pay someone else to raise our kids, not allowing the whims of a "one size fits all," education system determine how smart our children were, not letting our kids grow up believing that food does not just come from store shelves. We have transitioned our lives to include lessons of budgeting, finance, and loans; and how each should be used responsibly. We are teaching our kids that hard work and earning their way, is the only way. The understand that you never get something for nothing, and that depending on some large entity for means of support is wrong. Even through all we are teaching our kids, knowing that for these 2 kids, there are millions of others that are doing the exact opposite. It's heartbreaking for me, to see and hear of so many that lose everything. Yet, I know the choices each of us makes, is what make or break us.
As I finish up this blog today, I ask just a small favor. For the next 7 days, whenever you think of a complaint pertaining to your life, write it down....then stop complaining! At the end of each day, look at that list, and determine what you are going to do about each complaint. Don't stew about it, don't make excuses, don't just brush it off. Face those complaints, make a plan to FIX those complaints, and DO IT! You will find a million excuses why you can't, but just remember that's all they are - excuses. You can fix whatever is not going the way you want it to, if you are willing to work on it. It may not be something you can fix overnight, most things aren't! Make a plan, work towards that plan, and cross it off your list! It's up to each of us to fix what is not working in our lives, however we possibly can. If it's meaningful enough for you to complain about, it's meaningful enough to try to fix. If it's not meaningful enough to try to fix, complaining won't help anyway!
~S~
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