Today is going to be entirely my own opinion! You can take what you want from it, or just leave it altogether. But I do hope that it strikes a chord somewhere, for someone.
The more time that passes, and the more experiences I have with people, the more I realise that our worlds have become completely insular. People are so caught up in their own, rather small worlds, that they can't seem to see further than that. Social networking has only compounded the problem. Life seems to revolve around what's next for dinner, paying bills, bathing the kids, the next birthday/anniversary, going to work/gym/the next party etc. Don't get me wrong, all of these are important in our lives and deserve our focus.
The problem is, people can't seem to see past all of that. We're all guilty of it, myself included. It's so easy to lose yourself in day-to-day chores and responsibilities and forget that there is a whole big world out there. But the general attitude these days is that, if it's not happening within my little world, why should I get involved. Most times it's not on purpose. Life just gets in the way and other things involve more effort than we want to put in. We don't mean to be so switched off, but we are. The word that springs to mind is apathy. There is a complete apathy about the way humans seem to live their lives these days.
I joined our complex committee about 4 months ago and one of the things I implemented was a monthly newsletter to create a sense of community and to keep everyone abreast of security updates, advertise services offered by various residents (for free), general complex news etc. In fact for the last 3 days, we have been doing a collection for one of our security guards birthdays today. Out of 60 residents, 5 have contributed something... The rest haven't even responded to say no thanks. Only 50% actually opened the newsletter on Friday and I have received less than 10 emails in total in response to queries or offers, since I started it 4 months ago. The last 4 months have taught me, more than anything, that even the offer of free advertising isn't enough to raise people out of their sense of apathy.
When I thought about the people that DO respond, it's usually the older age groups; which had me thinking. Have you noticed how your parents, or grandparents, never seem to throw stuff out? They still have that coffee machine/blender/toolbox that was a wedding/birthday/anniversary gift 20 or 30 years ago. The furniture is often stuck in the 70s or 80s as are the curtains and carpets.
Maybe it's because they like the stuff. I think there is more to it though. Our parents and grandparents were brought up believing that THINGS had more value. I don't mean that they were materialistic. I mean they valued the things they were given. If something broke, they didn't immediately throw it away and buy a new one. They fixed the broken one until it was beyond fixing. Clothes were worn until they outgrew them or wore them out. Things were handed down or passed on to family and friends rather than thrown away.
Let's face it, "They don't make them like they used to" isn't just a random saying. It's the truth. More effort was put into making things because people didn't buy at the drop of a hat. Our parents and grandparents didn't subscribe to our culture of "stuff". They didn't just want stuff simply because. They only purchased what they needed. Birthdays and christmas were a time when you got given stuff you didn't really need and then it was usually one or two gifts each, and they were thoughtful and meaningful.
Everything is so readily available these days, we have grown accustomed to the convenience of simply buying something new if the old one is no longer appealing. Or we buy something just because we like it, never mind need it. We seldom do. We want stuff simply because it's there and marketers convince us that we NEED them, so we believe it. We have more clothes, shoes and handbags in our closets than we know what to do with. Our kitchens are overflowing with gadgets the adverts said we "really need." We replace our cars every 2 to 3 years. How many of your parents or grandparents have been driving the same car for the last 15 years? It's probably got an immaculate service record too because it is a valued commodity that they are trying to preserve, perhaps for their kids or grandkids. The sad thing is, those kids would probably prefer the new mini cooper or equivalent.
Coming back to the beginning of the post, those big corporations are pandering to the whims and needs of people. They started off having to build this culture of stuff and, now that they have, they simply have to keep up with the demand no matter what the consequences. No-one gives a thought to what happens to that old coffee machine/blender/toolbox that they threw out because it wasn't as new fangled and technical as their new one. As I said at the beginning, most people's thoughts don't go much further than what's next for dinner, paying bills, bathing the kids, the next birthday/anniversary, going to work/gym/the next party etc. That blender is already out of their mind and somebody else's problem.
It's that kind of apathy that is getting us into trouble. While we focus on all the little things, big things are going wrong. We are running out of space to put all of that old stuff and our planet is getting infused with toxic plastics and chemicals and just far less space for nature. While we are wondering if we should buy that Guess handbag, someone we know may be at the end of their tether, suffering from depression, and wondering how to end it all. While we are contemplating a new lounge suite (because the other one is a bit out of fashion now) an entire species of animal is on the brink of extinction. Why should we worry about climate change and global warming when we have a birthday party with all our friends on Friday and we need to pick an outfit? Why should we worry about our health and the state of our environment? We're going to die one day anyway, right? Important things are slipping through the cracks because we are so busy living in our small worlds and refusing to look further.
The more time that passes, and the more experiences I have with people, the more I realise that our worlds have become completely insular. People are so caught up in their own, rather small worlds, that they can't seem to see further than that. Social networking has only compounded the problem. Life seems to revolve around what's next for dinner, paying bills, bathing the kids, the next birthday/anniversary, going to work/gym/the next party etc. Don't get me wrong, all of these are important in our lives and deserve our focus.
The problem is, people can't seem to see past all of that. We're all guilty of it, myself included. It's so easy to lose yourself in day-to-day chores and responsibilities and forget that there is a whole big world out there. But the general attitude these days is that, if it's not happening within my little world, why should I get involved. Most times it's not on purpose. Life just gets in the way and other things involve more effort than we want to put in. We don't mean to be so switched off, but we are. The word that springs to mind is apathy. There is a complete apathy about the way humans seem to live their lives these days.
I joined our complex committee about 4 months ago and one of the things I implemented was a monthly newsletter to create a sense of community and to keep everyone abreast of security updates, advertise services offered by various residents (for free), general complex news etc. In fact for the last 3 days, we have been doing a collection for one of our security guards birthdays today. Out of 60 residents, 5 have contributed something... The rest haven't even responded to say no thanks. Only 50% actually opened the newsletter on Friday and I have received less than 10 emails in total in response to queries or offers, since I started it 4 months ago. The last 4 months have taught me, more than anything, that even the offer of free advertising isn't enough to raise people out of their sense of apathy.
When I thought about the people that DO respond, it's usually the older age groups; which had me thinking. Have you noticed how your parents, or grandparents, never seem to throw stuff out? They still have that coffee machine/blender/toolbox that was a wedding/birthday/anniversary gift 20 or 30 years ago. The furniture is often stuck in the 70s or 80s as are the curtains and carpets.
Maybe it's because they like the stuff. I think there is more to it though. Our parents and grandparents were brought up believing that THINGS had more value. I don't mean that they were materialistic. I mean they valued the things they were given. If something broke, they didn't immediately throw it away and buy a new one. They fixed the broken one until it was beyond fixing. Clothes were worn until they outgrew them or wore them out. Things were handed down or passed on to family and friends rather than thrown away.
Let's face it, "They don't make them like they used to" isn't just a random saying. It's the truth. More effort was put into making things because people didn't buy at the drop of a hat. Our parents and grandparents didn't subscribe to our culture of "stuff". They didn't just want stuff simply because. They only purchased what they needed. Birthdays and christmas were a time when you got given stuff you didn't really need and then it was usually one or two gifts each, and they were thoughtful and meaningful.
Everything is so readily available these days, we have grown accustomed to the convenience of simply buying something new if the old one is no longer appealing. Or we buy something just because we like it, never mind need it. We seldom do. We want stuff simply because it's there and marketers convince us that we NEED them, so we believe it. We have more clothes, shoes and handbags in our closets than we know what to do with. Our kitchens are overflowing with gadgets the adverts said we "really need." We replace our cars every 2 to 3 years. How many of your parents or grandparents have been driving the same car for the last 15 years? It's probably got an immaculate service record too because it is a valued commodity that they are trying to preserve, perhaps for their kids or grandkids. The sad thing is, those kids would probably prefer the new mini cooper or equivalent.
Coming back to the beginning of the post, those big corporations are pandering to the whims and needs of people. They started off having to build this culture of stuff and, now that they have, they simply have to keep up with the demand no matter what the consequences. No-one gives a thought to what happens to that old coffee machine/blender/toolbox that they threw out because it wasn't as new fangled and technical as their new one. As I said at the beginning, most people's thoughts don't go much further than what's next for dinner, paying bills, bathing the kids, the next birthday/anniversary, going to work/gym/the next party etc. That blender is already out of their mind and somebody else's problem.
It's that kind of apathy that is getting us into trouble. While we focus on all the little things, big things are going wrong. We are running out of space to put all of that old stuff and our planet is getting infused with toxic plastics and chemicals and just far less space for nature. While we are wondering if we should buy that Guess handbag, someone we know may be at the end of their tether, suffering from depression, and wondering how to end it all. While we are contemplating a new lounge suite (because the other one is a bit out of fashion now) an entire species of animal is on the brink of extinction. Why should we worry about climate change and global warming when we have a birthday party with all our friends on Friday and we need to pick an outfit? Why should we worry about our health and the state of our environment? We're going to die one day anyway, right? Important things are slipping through the cracks because we are so busy living in our small worlds and refusing to look further.
If you're thinking, "Well, why should it be ME who notices/responds/gives a damn", then you need to take a step back and re-evaluate things. The problem is, the majority of the world IS thinking that and that's why things get worse. I certainly have days where I think, "I really don't feel like washing up the recycling things. Washing normal dishes is enough, isn't it?!" If I did that every day, it would eventually become a habit and I'd stop caring because it'd be easier. So I don't let myself. It's not even an option.
It's tempting to just give up on things because it feels like you're getting nowhere, just as it's tempting to ignore things that aren't pertinent in your life, because it's less complicated. It's easier to buy something new instead of getting the old one fixed. It's easier to smoke that cigarette, buy conventional household cleaning products, eat conventional foods, buy, rather than grow, your own produce, take an antibiotic instead of allowing your body to heal naturally and live in a small, insular world, where nothing can touch you.
But that's not really true. Because it will touch you eventually. And if not you, then your kids, or someone close to you. We can't continue to be apathetic when so much is at stake. Sometimes you need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. There is so much more to all of this then a new car/lounge suite/handbag. They are just tiny, largely unnecessary things. If you aren't sure about what I'm saying, watch the video below to put things into some kind of perspective. We are tiny and insignificant and we live in a massive universe where those "things" are so irrelevant it's actually scary. That fight you had with your best friend/mother/sister or son? Stew for a bit if you must, but then move on. In the whole scheme of things he said/she said is really not worth worrying about for the rest of your life. There is so much more.
We are here for such a small amount of time. Instead of the attitude that says, "So why should we care?" try and change it to "That's why we SHOULD care." Make the differences that will leave you feeling proud of the legacy you left behind. Just because "everyone doesn't think that way, doesn't mean you shouldn't.
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