A REFLECTION ON INTENTIONAL LIVING, DECEMBER 2023
A quick summary for you all, from earlier posts on this blog. Intentional living begins with a declaration of focus; what is important to you. A mission statement follows, your goal as it were, directly related to that focal point. After that, you take steps, each step in line with the mission statement, each taking you closer and closer to your goal.
And all of this, for me, is related to, deeply tied to, the quest for my Higher Self, my True Self. I feel, and I have mentioned this before, that I have spent a great portion of my life not knowing who I am. I certainly have spent many years not happy, in a state of limbo, if you will, falling just short of the joy so many other people seem to experience.
I can no longer play the game. In fact, the game sickens me. The unending, almost manic desire to own more possessions, and to work harder, and longer, to afford those possessions, is madness I want nothing to do with. I am, quite frankly, blown away by the millions of people, in this country alone, who do not see the truth. They cannot win the game. The game is fixed, pure and simple, and that’s as close as you will ever hear me come to discussing cabals and the diabolical plans of the rich. I’m not one for conspiracy theories . . . usually . . . but I’m getting closer and closer to believing that the economic system is controlled by a very few at the expense of the very many, and they plan it that way.
At the same time as that declaration of surrender, I am committed to doing my part to help this planet, and to save as many of its wonders as possible. It may be a fool’s errand, but at least this fool will die knowing he did everything he could to reverse the tide of madness.
Thus, the desire to live in an intentional community and thus, the focus, of this blog and any future videos I produce.
I do not plan on going all evangelical on you. I will try very hard not to preach. I will simply chronicle the steps I continue to take to make my mission statement an ongoing reality. I will never blame anyone if they do not agree with me, but I do ask that people be respectful of my choices.
As we wonder . . . I hope you will continue to follow us, support us, and give your feedback.
Question for the day: Would any of you consider living in an intentional community of the type I have described in earlier blog postings? I really want discussion on this. I would love it if you emailed me at holland1145@yahoo.com. I would love it if you called me at 360-878-1757 (texting first so I know it’s not spam). I would love it if our friendships grew and real relationships sprouted from this blog.
What say you?
A MILLION LITTLE THINGS
Did you ever watch that television series, maybe five seasons long, ended last year, I believe, or the year prior to that? It was about the suicide of a beoved friend and family man, and how the survivors of his death reflected on his life, eventually leading, hopefully, to some closure concerning the way he chose to die, answers to the questions why, how could he, what was he thinking, et al.
The subject matter, for me, was fascinating; not particularly the focus on suicide, although that is a timely topic, but the fact that it is never one event, or one action, which causes something catastrophic. It is a series of events, a million little things, which ultimately climax in the action in question.
Got me thinking, of course.
Climate change.
I’m not here to debate climate change with anyone, but I think we can all agree that the climate, for whatever reason, has changed over the last ten years. If you don’t believe in the theory that mankind is at least partially to blame, that’s fine, but at the very least, just by stepping outside your door on a regular basis, you should have noticed that Mother Nature ain’t happy.
Houston, we have a problem. Literally. As in an entire city sinking. New Orleans, anyone? Venice? Shanghai? London? Shall I continue?
A million little things.
It would be easy to blame corporations. They are a pretty easy “fall guy” to blame . . . a faceless entity, synonymous with greed, caring only about profits and not a hoot about the environment. But that would be the equivalent of blaming World War 2 on the unbalanced mind of a madman. It’s the easy way out for those too lazy to do some research.
A million little things.
I’m curious, if a poll were taken of a million people, who they would say is to blame for climate change and the record heating of our planet?
Would any of those million voting actually blame themselves?
Just curious.
A million little things, or, in the case of our rapidly heating home, eight billion little things.
In my first novel, The 12/59 Shuttle From Yesterday to Today, I wrote about an animal, and for the life of me I don’t remember which animal it was, but I wrote that it was now found a thousand miles from its historic breeding grounds, and the only possible reason for that lengthy relocation is the fact that a series of events rendered its historic breeding ground dead and void. In order to survive, that species had to travel, and travel, and travel, until it found an environment it could survive in.
A million little things.
I take a walk, daily, with my dog Maggie, and each walk is dedicated to the discovery of wonders. I cherish those walks and hope to have many more, but a thought crept into my brain tonight, silently unbidden, that there are children growing up, right now, say adolescents, who may not see, twenty years from now, the same wonders I see now.
And I find that profoundly sad.
Probably just an old man spouting nonsense. After all, as I’ve said before, I’m just a bear of very little brain. I don’t suppose I’m right.
