The World Today
What do we think of, each day, about the world? Or do we just think of our personal world that revolves around ourselves?
You may have many answers to these questions but let me narrow down what my ears hear and head thinks.
Living on an island in Greece and only having the power of satellite TV I only get what the media wishes to tell me. I can hear some of you say well that’s all we get as well.
I was inspired to write this as, due to a freak storm bringing down power lines, the Island was without electricity and water for a whole seven days.
Before I get to my main story I would like to share a few problems that we had to incur.
Washing each day with a flannel and a bottle of bought water, boiling a small amount for my tea on a camping stove; this was after the fight to buy a gaz burner, as the rest of the island was doing exactly the same. Many other items were impossible to buy also due to the shops being closed, because they could sell you items, because the tills did not work and by law here the shopkeeper must give a till receipt, or they can’t sell it.
The island was in a crisis situation and though the shops were full of what you needed, the frozen food that much of which could have been sold and cooked was thrown away because of the same silly problem, no till receipt - no sale. The very small shops just got out the solar powered calculator and sold you what they had and it shows you yet again the world over, how the small person looks after those that are in need. The larger groups just close and give not another thought, they know you will be back and leave the small ones due to the cost of things in general, but will they be there next time we need them?
The world to day as I see it from my small patch is that we want everything at our disposal and when we want it too, but take it away and we are lost. Well not completely as we, the human race, are very good at adapting.
The big problem, which I had not thought of, was how depression can set in as well as panic.
You may be different, but who knows until it happens to you?
Each day I stayed a bit longer in bed because it was warmer there, (no heating what so ever and winter in Greece can be very cold). When I got up I could not do much as everything small thing was a decision, for example, did I really need a cup of tea. Normally I would just go to the kettle many times in a day and have one at any time of day or night; this privilege was no longer available.
Some of us did have wood fires and could keep warm but when do you light the fire as it would mean the earlier you started the more baskets of wood would have to come from the bottom of the garden. You may think by now that I am being lazy, and perhaps you are correct, but please think again.
It’s not possible to know how long this problem would last and you only had so much of food water gas bottles and wood to burn; not to mention the lack of fuel for the car as the pumps had no power either and you had to consider that every time you needed to try to find some one who was open and went ‘against the law’ by serving you without a receipt, this would also mean long queues and they may run out before you even got in the shop.
All sounds very dramatic? Well it certainly was for many who were poor as opposed to a few of the richer ones, as each time I went to town I would see cars and trucks with brand new generators in the back with those people who just were not going to live a simple life, these people where paying the same as they could for one or two years electricity; the last time they had a major problem on the island was thirteen years ago; so what’s it all about I asked myself.
Just to jump for a moment, now that everything has returned to normal I can have what ever I like again and when I like too; only is it what I deserve? But while writing this I suddenly looked across at my half cup of tea, it was then the fourth day and only half way through the day, just to see that I had let my cup of tea get cold, oh well, I could always make another, or could I?
If I ran my life the way I did last week with a few minor adjustments I could live here for less than half the cost and my body would be more balanced. Wash and eat when I need, only drive when I have made a list of what I need, then it would be worth going out for, thus lees fuel costs. Keeping the heating on manual and not just leave it to burn away the world’s resources without a care.
Back to the story line.
If we all lived on an island, ‘a small one’, we would perhaps take life as it comes and live more with what the planet contributes and not the human interference. Here are a few things to consider on this Small Island, and I am sure many other islands all over the world.
In summer it is too hot to work hard so you stay in a lot or go to the beaches, ‘Enjoy it or hide from it’ is the motto.
When it’s windy the small plane does not come to the island. The ferry will not run to other islands or even across the bay due to winds or bad currents,’ swirls’. This means you do not get all the food and materials you need so you just wait until it changes, it’s no big problem because it happens and you accept it, after all what can you do? The planet is bigger even here than us.
I could find many other items to speak about but the best part about this situation happening to me is this: you have to change your ‘wants’ and go with ‘what is’. Once you have accomplished this your life starts to become full, you take more time to look at the stars because they cost nothing and you have time; ‘neither does time really cost’. But your patience may! You have lots of time because you are not taking all your day and night thinking about what you must have and need the next day or near future, you can plan ahead, not asking for the earth but just what you require to live a sensible life, with as much ease that is sufficiently needed. What is sufficient? You know that you will probably get all you require and you will wait quite happily.
Ok, so let me get back to the media.
When power is at an abundance and looking at the news in great detail ‘just in case the world is about to end’ and I would never know without my satellite friend and the dish.
I see so many others struggling in the planet that have not had a quarter in life as I have, trying to survive due to some disaster that has befallen them and their families and friends young and old as disasters take no account of how good or bad a person has been; it just takes them.
Like many of you my heart goes out to them and I realise how lucky I am and that my disaster amounts to absolutely nothing and I should re-asses my life. Do you ever get this feeling? I bet you do all the time.
Like me does it last for, a day, an hour, or less? I am not trying to be rude or judgmental in these words but most of us do have it very good in life and reading the above you may be worse or better off than what I have gone through, but we all need to be stopped occasionally or we will forget the word we should use as often as we can; ‘Thank you’. Who ever it is you’re thanking, in words or mind it does not matter as long as we touch the part that we loose too easy, feeling and thinking with our heart of others not so fortunate.
I do realise that anyone could have written what I have about living a more simple life. What not many of us do is; ………. something about it.
As a parent I think I spoiled my children, I gave them more than what they required to live a sensible life. My parents spoilt me but this was ok because the answer that was used in my upbringing was that because they had to go through the 2nd world war and had a hard time they did not want the same for us and so they did everything they could to give us a better life.
Now my children and grand children have it ‘so bad’, that we cannot give enough to them; even if every day was a big day. It just gets vulgar the amount we spend and give, just to do it all again within a short period of time.
Credit cards at the melting point, debts everywhere and still we keep buying toys luxury items for the home. We have to re-decorate it at least once every three years and with some a lot less than that.
We are plagued with the buying syndrome and if we can’t have it when we or our children wish it we get depressed. Not to worry because the doctors have plenty of pills that can calm you down so you can think more clearly. If you are so unwell that you have to stop work, and you were one of the unlucky ones without pay after a week, then you will need the maximum strength pills to keep you from hanging yourself.
The answer that all these needy folk need, is to take a shopping break for a while and get therapy on how not to go back to their old ways, that made them ill in the first place.
How many years will it take to get to a clear thinking state? Will it be when the house is on a million year mortgage and the car is on finance, and let’s face it that won’t last for ever; probably not as long as you have stretched the payments out? I do not wish to go into the furniture and hi-fi and so on, or you will just jump from the window or look for the rope now and not wait until the end of this thought of mine.
What thought?
It is about ‘addiction’, the whole western world has it; like many other untreatable illnesses
What do you do when you are ill, go to the doctor? Not everyone, some think that they can help them selves and perhaps they can, but most cannot.
This illness I am speaking off is long term and it will take a long time to cure and for many they will not choose to try, as the feeling they get from the adrenalin of buying and worry later is bigger than the illness. Who thinks that it will be them? It is never them that will have a bad accident. Not me it will always be someone else, only it’s too late when laying in the hospital and thinking why did it happen to me.
What do those of you that have kept with me think of trying the following, even if only in your mind?
First go with pen and pad around your abode, writing down all that you think is the minimum you would need to survive; you will not need a large piece. Then on another page write what you have that is a luxury or not required now but it is there. If like me for this you will need a larger piece.
Let me put it another way
Imagine you have decided to move to a small island and you are going to have to pay for transport and the cost of each item will cost you three times to take it, than what it originally cost.
You will not be able to replace a lot of the items that you leave behind and you have taken only the items in mind that you really need to live, let us say comfortably. What would you put high on your list? After thinking that the main thing is food and clothing that you can buy there anyway, just now think of the basic essential furniture, beds, seats, table etc?
Some of these main items you can buy for a lot less than you will have to pay for transporting them, depending where you are going of course, and we do not want to start the same buying mania as we are leaving behind, or we are not trying to relieve ourselves of this illness are we?
Ok, so you have thought about why you are moving and that the biggest thing is to improve your lifestyle (a difficult word) if you do not wish to change, as I said earlier, stay as you are but if you cannot see a way on how to get off this power planet that surrounds you then you must put restrictions on how you will manage once you make the jump. You have decided to not repeat the life you are leaving and must be hard on your self, ‘or will you’?
If you choose the right island that will restrict you then you are more than half way.
The final move
You made the right choice and have now arrived with your limited furnishings and personal items, and you start your new life. You may still have credit cards but they are not widely accepted and only hard currency speaks. Oh dear, does that mean that you have to think before you buy?
No one knows you yet in this new place to give you credit, you have not been in a job (if you need one) for a year at the least and so no bank will give you a cash or any other card for the few times you can actually find somewhere to use it; so it’s back to just what you have; ‘CASH’, did you bring enough and if so how long did you work out that it would last?
I know you will need to get set up in your new surroundings and of course it will cost but as normal ‘more than you thought’, but not to worry because you can do with less once you know exactly how you will live and that will depend on those bills, well, you have to have some unless you move to a cave; Electric, water, council tax, perhaps a phone, maybe even a TV or satellite, steady now or we will be back to where we were?
So where are we?
The cost is less because our needs are less or we can’t get all that we had before so we do without and accept it?
Now that’s the hard part. Why? Well you may have thought that you could cope without certain items that sprang to mind before the move, but living without them once there may be a different matter.
So what happens?
I have all I need in my new home and the food is ok, I can live here and perhaps a lot cheaper than before ‘but’ I still need things! Not the same things as before, more important items i.e. a new saw to build some shelves, some computer paper, new ink cartridge, lamp shades, I think you get the picture. The weather is bad so saws will be in maybe next week or longer the store keeper tells you, ok I am not happy but must accept it. I have to write as this is my new freedom, putting thoughts down in print, in hopes of becoming a writer and I need my paper and I need cream paper!
Sorry we do not have cream, only white, but we can get it for you, ok how much will it cost? We cannot say as we have not been asked for this before, (your old ways creep in) I don’t care how much it costs and please just get it as soon as you can. (Had a though, how about turning your old paper over and re-using it? I bet you do it already?)
Five shops later and no ink cartridges either, same answers. Would this make you selective about what you print off and what you could read from the screen? I know you do this already.
It all takes time to change
If you have made it this far in your imaginary new world; you would know that by now you have had to go from; I want it and I want it now - what ever the consequences, to accepting things as they are and waiting. This means you have to consider, did you really need it in the first place? Or have you become a thinker and more selective in what you do really need, hopefully you will have also realised that if you do not get it ‘now’ it will not kill you. You may even find a great pleasure in this new you and see many changes that you can make in your life now; it has freed up the demanding ever spending mind set.
Try looking up at the stars and doing more with you time than just needing more; take a decision when to go shopping, is the list worth the effort? Does it matter if it’s done this week or next month?
So many decisions that you do not have to make, perhaps you will learn to pause, giving you time to live each day doing just what you can at the pace in which the planet is allowing, where people work to what is achievable without the aid of a magic wand, ‘or should I say credit cards’.
I have only tried to touch on a thought here to allow you to re-think the island you are on right at this moment in time. The island can be thought of as the area that you cover in your normal life; it does not really need to be an island surrounded by water. You can decide on the restrictions yourself, if you will allow it. If however you cannot just up and leave the crazy world that surrounds you at least you may have some thoughts on how you can look up at the stars and analyse just what it is you ‘have to do or buy’ in the next week or so and you may just find you can get by without.
Then your illness may subside and health of ‘I want now’ and ‘money’ will be less of a burden.
My last thought for you is this;
Wherever you go on this planet you will still be the same person when you arrive, it sometimes needs others or the environment to slow us down. Stop and think clear with your mind on how to achieve your goals and then stick to it for a few weeks, ‘if you can’, and see how it goes, it will be hard, possibly the same as trying to get off heroin (do not know but that looks hard).
Welcome to your new life where ever it may be.
Tony Sargeant