The other day sitting in the dentist chair something hit me. I was sitting there getting my teeth cleaned thinking, here is a woman that deals with nothing but teeth the entire day to make money to live. Of course then I realized I firmly plant my butt in a chair all day in order to do that same thing. I realized that this sort of thing has been building since the birth of societies and cultures. But it really amazed me how far we have taken it. Think about it. Do you have the knowledge to take care of the basic needs for yourself on a daily basis? I know that if something were to happen and I was responsible for my daily needs I would certainly struggle (aka die). I've become a specialist that doesn't even know how to grow or kill enough food to survive. Also makes me realize that if variety is the spice of life then I must be failing miserably. The variety I have in a standard day revolves around food. Might explain some things there. I guess I do get a little variety in the gym for 1 hour on 4 days a week. That makes things really exciting!
Mostly I didn't come up with any answers here, just more questions. It did make me realize that I just need to get out more. Out of the office for sure, but even out of the house, out of the gym, get out of the NORM. Do something that is new and different and enjoy the variety that is all around.
It's disturbing to think how ill prepared we are to keep ourselves alive and well if left up to our own devices. I recently realized this when I saw iCaveman with the biggest ambassador of the Paleo Lifestyle, Robb Wolf, really struggle logistically and emotionally to kill an animal for food.
ReplyDeleteOur society is not set up to encourage individuals that, well, want to be individual. That thought only brings more questions like why is it like that and how do we mix it up? If we shift our priorities away from things and onto experiences it might be a different existance but how do we shift out of that comfort zone?
The people being individuals is a huge thing in my mind. The "ideal" is the utopian society that has everyone as a small cog in the larger machine specializing in some sort of way. You can see that in the Socialist design. Everyone doing a small part to better the whole. Unfortunately people tend to reject that type of thinking at some point. Will this path ever be rejected?
ReplyDeleteI came to this conclusion while reading 'emergency' by Neil Strauss. In it he kills a goat he had been raising, for food of course and explores the emotions of doing so. 100 years ago it wouldnt be any issue at all, just SLICE and dead. Now we are so far removed from our food sources that we think its odd to have to do that.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the sentiment on the post, get out more, out of the norm.
Same conclusion in the book Omnivore's Delima. I'm sure my reaction would be similar. Interestingly on the farm they do it as rarely as they can to keep it from being casual. I've heard of people on the kill line at meat packing plants being completely desensitized to the thought of killing another animal. I guess in our society it is another form of Specialization.
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