What Do YOU Think?

Photo by Tachina Lee on Unsplash

Why do we care what a politician, or a celebrity, or a pundit, or a billionaire thinks? Stop reacting, look at the world, and do your own thinking and make your own decisions. Take actions that make sense to you.

It’s not that hard, except everyone else is simply reacting to a standardized and set focus, an agenda and a worldview that’s already been established. That’s a problem because it’s a pretty limited world view — one that doesn’t allow us to realistically or sensibly face the most important challenges in life. We need to make our own fresh analysis and to set our own priorities.

Try it. Try ignoring what everyone else is obsessing over today. Decide for yourself what’s important and what’s worthy of your attention. How it all works for you may be different from my approach. Or not.

Here’s what I’ve done.

I’ve looked at the world, and my own experience of living, and decided three things:

1. We as a species are stupidly ruining the planet we live on and dooming our own children. This is an exceedingly dumb decision and must be reversed.
2. Life is limited and precious — yours and everyone elses. Since we are all essentially the same, and share the same human nature and condition, we should treat ourselves and others with deep respect, with caring and with love. This experience of consciousness and life, our capacity to think and feel and do things, should be given the full opportunity to flourish.
3. We live in a civilization that respects neither the planet nor human life. We must defy and disobey and (when possible) simply ignore the norms and rules of this civilization to live a proper and respectable life.

My conclusion is that our civilization is insane. This isn’t just about capitalism, although the evil that capitalism embodies is real. But so is the evil of many other systems. Any system, rule, norm or institution that has the stupid attitudes shared by most authorities worldwide are not worth our support, or even (when possible) our attention.

Of course we cannot completely ignore authorities and institutions that enforce rules to control our lives and behaviors and — to some extent — even our thoughts. But by refusing to listen to or adopt their assumptions and frameworks, and instead taking control of your thoughts and your internal life and what you say publicly and privately — that’s a big step towards exposing and ending the insanity.

The common routine is one of complete obedience. People typically wake up, drink coffee to stimulate themselves for the day of servitude ahead, read the paper so they know what to think and the TWO (and only TWO) choices available to them on every issue, and then go to work and waste yet another precious day of life making money for “The Man.”

By the way, I’m not saying I’m better than you. I’m not. That was my routine, too. Now, back to the routine.

You get some time off — weekends — thanks to unions, a kind of organization we’re taught to hate — but live pretty much as servants who are too tired in their “spare time” to do much or think clearly.

I try to get enough sleep. I’ll take naps, or sleep in on weekends. At this point of life, I can sleep late on weekdays, too — if my dog will let me.

My morning routine is very different.

1. Okay, I wake up too early and take the dog to the curb to do his business.
2. I have espresso and DO NOT read the newspaper or look at headlines but instead take out a pad and paper to write out my thoughts.
3. I reinforce my perspective, by dwelling on the thoughts of mortality and the wonder of conscious existence.
4. I pledge to myself (yet again) to value this existence and live my day accordingly.
5. I think about what I can do to protect the Earth from ruin and to live this day properly — fully living and helping others to do the same.
6. I make a list of ideas and rank them in priority. The list includes what I must do within this insane civilization — but gives those steps the lowest priority possible. Life comes first.

This morning routine fits in nicely with movement I founded — The Saners — a movement that is determined to prevent climate collapse and establish a sane and caring and sustainable civilization based on proper values. As you know, the insane civilization of today is built on greed, selfishness, bigotry, hatred and violence. It calls all of those terrible vices “freedom” to pretend that the civilization isn’t rotten to the core.

That verbal dodge has gotten old and holds absolutely zero credibility with me. Cruelty and insanity is simply not “freedom.” It is cruelty and insanity.

Refreshing

I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to live as a sane human being. Even if much of the change is simply internal, it’s like returning from the dead. When I wake up and truly realize I am alive and remember how astounding and special that is, I’m energized. I have purpose and direction. I’m driven to do what I can. The world is an abundance of opportunities, not a bunch of land mines to avoid and dread.

I want you to join me. I want every human being to be fully human and fully alive. I want to let the evil civilization die from non-support, from lack of obedience, and from universal ridicule — which it deserves BECAUSE it is ridiculous.

The Saners points out an obvious and undeniable truth:

To knowingly ruin the planet that you and everyone you love lives on, or to help others destroy it, is insane.

Be kind to yourself and to others. Respect the miracle of life. Value each day. Work with others to promote life and to speed the end of this evil and undeserving (and insane) civilization. There is a better civilization within each of us, and we will first embody it and then give it life.

This new and better civilization, based on sensible and sane values, can and must become the new norm. We — The Saners — are working on it.