Yesterday I got an e-mail from my neighbors(well, former neighbors) who used to live in the schoolhouse we're taking over. They moved to a cabin in Maine that they had-his former residence before they got together! Anyway, this is your basic cabin- cute, lots of wood, outhouse, woodstove for heat-they sent pictures. So they're doing great, the animals have been grazing well, cow's giving lots of milk, baby's doing fine, and of course they miss us...... So I was thinking that what they have there is a basic life- a home(shelter), heat-provided by wood they cut, food-to be grown, draft horses, space to play and lots to discover for the growing munchkin, friends nearby and each other. Their basic needs are met. It's not fancy- but it works.

It wouldn't cut it though in Matha Stewart Living or Home and Garden or any TV commercial, magazine ad or well, anywhere really that is intent upon selling us stuff. But this is really a good life-has what they need at home and they have the skills to earn cash in the area as needed.  But there's no Corion counter tops in sight, or jacuzzi or master bath with heated towel rack, nor fancy window treatments, subzero fridge, large screen TV, late model car or SUV and so on. But somehow what they have is enough for them-and for a good life. So why have we all been sold this bill of goods that says that we need to consume large amounts of stuff, furnish our homes in the latest trendiest styles, purchase new electronic gadgets yearly, etc?

The other day I read an article on home construction- and the ever increasing size trend of houses. As the number of occupants decreased, the houses only got larger. The article quoted a realtor as saying that it's impossible to sell a house with only 1 1/2 baths these days- everyone wants at least 2 or more baths. Wow- good thing I don't plan on moving any time soon- only got 1 bath- which I thought was a major step up from the outhouse!  So what's the deal here? Why have we bought into this? And this has translated into the ever increasing cost of homes- in many areas of the US home prices are so high that many are priced out of the market completely. Those that do buy one are locked into working long hours-2 incomes usually- with disaster to follow any interuption in income flow, as we're now seeing..... Just buying a basic house for a cost that one income can pay for is often impossible. As for new construction- forget it- only mega structures are being built. Around here, "affordable housing" has come to mean a trailer......

How did we become convinced that it was a good thing for a 120 lb woman to use 7,000 lbs of steel and misc. other products to propel her to the store for a quart of milk? That this was not just normal but in fact desirable? That we "needed" all these vehicles, and that somehow they were more than just transportation? They represented our image, our goals, how we saw ourselves and wanted others to see us? SUV's built for off-road use that never saw anything more off-road than the mall parking lot? DVD players in cars? Cars that cost more than I paid for my land? The fields and roadside here are still covered with hulking SUV's, tricked out pick-ups, snowmobiles and ATV's- all with "for sale" signs on them, but no takers. Somehow we thought this was all very important and worth spending so much money as well as valuable resources on constructing and running.

Why did we start to believe that commuting long hours to jobs, often stuck in massive traffic jams(jobs that often we only do for the money and not any real sense of personal satisfaction), that leave us so drained at the end of the day that we settle for take-out food picked up on the way home or pizza delivery was an acceptable way to spend 40 years or so? That the American way to live was to work long hours and write checks to people to do all the things we no longer had time or energy to do ourselves- bake bread, clean our house, wash our clothes, grow food, cook our meals, care for our children?

That spending our  remaining free-time mowing the lawn to a smooth green stubble, shopping at the mall and watching TV were more important than spending time in community? That we had no time to work with local children or teens, or be on the planning commission or school committee,  or be a youth leader or help out elderly neighbors? That is was more important to purchase a certain image-in our homes, lawns and landscaping, clothing, cars, vacations-to represent us to the world- and to spend our time earning the money(and paying back the credit cards) to buy this image? Thast it was ok to go for years not even knowing who lived next door?

Anyway, I've been thinking about all of us this as the oil crisis unfolds. That so many people are woefully unprepared for what has been happening. That all the stuff they thought was  important and worth spending so much of their life energy to obtain is now either worthless or for sale for pennies on the dollar- the McMansions that will cost a fortune to heat, the large vehicles, all the toys, fancy kitchen appliances(Want to buy an electric egg poacher? How about a hot dog griller?)-destined for yard sales- just all of that stuff we thought was worth working all those hours for.  The groomed lawns being torn up for vegetable gardens........

It's just interesting to me- I know that before this many people would have looked down on my friend's little cabin in Maine- who wants to live like that? Or my place even- a "step-up" from that cabin-got plumbing- and more rooms- but still very simple and rustic by our current "standards". But now times are changing- and that simple little cabin will meet the needs of their family- and I'd sure rather cut wood to heat that then a 4,000 sq ft house! And my place sure isn't fancy but it's paid for!  I've still got to earn an income of course and taxes go up yearly, but at least I'm not scrambling to pay a mortage on a $500,000 home!

When it comes down to it, I'd venture to say that we've spent a lot of time and energy and resources ignoring the things that really are important-family, friends, community, satisfaction in work, service to others, caring for the land. We've been focussed on stuff that really has little or no value. At the end of your life what will matter is your family and friends and what you've done with your time here on earth-not the quality of your kitchen appliances and counter tops or the car you drove.

Tags: world without oil
Current Mood: contemplative