liveonearth: (Default)
The river and everything I remembered
about it became a possession to me,
a personal, private possession, as nothing
else in my life ever had.  Now it ran
nowhere but in my head, but there
it ran as though immortally....
In me it still is, and will be until I die,
green, rocky, deep, fast, slow, and
beautiful beyond reality.

--James Dickey in Deliverance 
liveonearth: (elephant on trampoline)
I think everybody
should get rich and famous
and do everything they ever dreamed of
so they can see
that it's not the answer.

--Jim Carrey as quoted in Forbes.com
liveonearth: (i buy books)
Another person discovers that having too much stuff is a burden on one's life.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/opinion/sunday/living-with-less-a-lot-less.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

In a recent study, the Northwestern University psychologist Galen V. Bodenhausen linked consumption with aberrant, antisocial behavior. Professor Bodenhausen found that “Irrespective of personality, in situations that activate a consumer mind-set, people show the same sorts of problematic patterns in well-being, including negative affect and social disengagement.” Though American consumer activity has increased substantially since the 1950s, happiness levels have flat-lined.
liveonearth: (Default)

Laughter Filled Voices

How terrible to love what can perish
All that you care for, treasure and cherish.
How tormented, lost and sickened you’ll be
For all that is gone, no longer to see.
We clutch to our breast and pray it will last
Future uncertain, too soon it is past.
What value we place on things that we prize
Too often, how much and what is the size?
When all of these things are really a joke
Reality made of mirrors and smoke.
Memories, love, laughter in stitches
Intangible things make up life’s riches.
These will survive never die or expire
Enduring and timeless, sure to inspire.
Everything you touch, clutch or hold on to
Will all pass away, matters not what you do.
Think with your heart when making your choices
Don’t pass up love and laughter filled voices.

--D.S.Knight
liveonearth: (Default)
I have enough money in the bank now to buy enough beans and rice for twenty-five years. To the end (sometimes longed for). Why not kidnap Suzy and sneak off to the life of a semi-hermit? A tempting, constantly tempting idea. ......Peace. Simplicity. Order, ceremony and ritual. Voluntary poverty. An end to clutter and this vulgar, stifling, crushing burden of things.
--Edward Abbey
liveonearth: (moon)
Progressive causes are failing: here’s how they could be turned around
Read more... )
SOURCE: the whole awesome article is here-->
http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2010/10/11/the-values-of-everything/
came to my attention via lj community: powerswitch
liveonearth: (Default)
I heard this on the radio this morning, and then swift on its heels a statement from Obama telling the Chinese to shop more. He wants Chinese people to become as blatantly materialist as Americans are, so that we can sell them things. What? Interesting times indeed. The Cuban leader is ahead of the American leader in recognizing the reality of the crisis that confronts our planet, and the solution to it. Maybe I'll move to Cuba. Much as I adore Obama for his cultural sensitivity and ability to bring previously disenfranchised groups to the table, he is still flunking on the economy. In the long run it may be incredibly beneficial to Cuba to not be sucked into the American paradigm of wealth. The embargo is a blessing in disguise.
liveonearth: (Default)
I have this strange chair that is the corner out of a segmented sofa. It is supposed to be off white, but it is so old and dirty that it is more like gray mottled with brown. Last winter the roof leaked on it and the stains were the worst yet. I generally keep it covered with a blanket. Today I propped it up on the bannister of our tiny 2nd floor porch. I sprayed it with dilute dish soap, scrubbed the spots a little and hosed it off repeatedly. Then it started to rain. I thought "great, it will get rinsed off well". But then the rain set in as if it would never end. The chair might never dry left out on the porch. So I just wrangled the oversized ugly thing back into the foyer and set a fan on it. This chair only came with me to Oregon because my cat loved it. It is the thing that has told her we are "home" in the several moves we have made so far. I think this may be the end of the chair. It is a piece of garbage that I carted here with me from Arizona. I often think back on the stuff I loaded in a truck to bring here. Junk. But this chair has had its moments. It has been a good meditation chair. And it fits well in small nooks beside windows. I think I paid Suzanne (not this Suzanne but the prior one in my life) $10 for it. I can barely believe I paid ten bucks for this. But here it is. Funny how possessions can complicate our lives. I would have done well to get rid of it a long time ago, and the cat would have known some other way that we were home.

I keep thinking I should get rid of 90% of everything that I have.
Then I cram more stuff into the closet that I might use someday.

Profile

liveonearth: (Default)
liveonearth

May 2025

S M T W T F S
    123
45678910
11121314151617
1819202122 2324
25262728293031

Syndicate

RSS Atom

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jun. 14th, 2025 08:50 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios