“We do not have to visit a madhouse to find disordered minds; our planet is the mental institution of the universe.”
~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
I was up at least an hour before dawn today. Just couldn’t sleep. Not alot on my mind, but yet at some level, the pressure of preparing for an extended leave is wearing a bit on me. As I watched the sunrise, thinking what an ordinary Thursday it is, I found myself contemplating ordinary life.
The past ten days, I’ve been on a raw food diet, or I should say simply 100% vegetables, no beans or grains. Whole foods. And I’ll tell you that the energy is truly amazing. While I will write about the foods aspect on my other blog, in relation to this space here, what has struck me is really how much processed foods even I – as a vegan – have in my diet.
Less than 100 years ago, a person generally would have maintained a garden. I was thinking what it would be like to have a garden, and actually be self sustaining? I love the thought of that. Imagine how much money would be saved? Even this week, not buying all the canned goods and boxed pastas, etc. saved quite a bit.
What I’ve also noticed is how much less garbage we are producing, as well as food waste.
All in all, I guess, I’m just contemplating modern society. Is it possible to turn back, and begin rethinking our industrialized way of living? I do believe that there is a growing number of people who are dissatisfied with the status quo. More urban gardens are cropping up. People are demanding change to factory farming practices.
And then I see stories about three youth who killed a man in Oklahoma because they were simply bored. We had a similar occurrence even down here. A group of youth killed an acquaintance. It’s rumored that the man, who was gay, made a pass at one of the boys. Back in my day, you might have gotten in a fist fight over something like that, but surely you never would have beaten a man to death over it! When did our youth lose touch with the value of a human life? What will it take to turn our youth, our next generation, around?
Octave Mirbeau wrote in ‘The Torture Garden’: “You’re obliged to pretend respect for people and institutions you think absurd. You live attached in a cowardly fashion to moral and social conventions you despise, condemn, and know lack all foundation. It is that permanent contradiction between your ideas and desires and all the dead formalities and vain pretenses of your civilization which makes you sad, troubled and unbalanced. In that intolerable conflict you lose all joy of life and all feeling of personality, because at every moment they suppress and restrain and check the free play of your powers. That’s the poisoned and mortal wound of the civilized world.”
Well, I don’t mean to be depressing, but that’s whats on my mind today … Not always ‘peaches and cream’. Yet, I can contemplate solving the world’s problems, and on a dime, shrug it off, and begin whistling my happy tune.
Yes, Andrea Plough … my own little Disney World. So for you, I have a playlist on my iPod for moments when the world’s ways get me down. And here’s the first song …
Just whistle while you work
Put on that grin and start right in to whistle loud and long
Just hum a merry tune
Just do your best and take a rest and sing yourself a song
When there’s too much to do
Don’t let it bother you, forget your troubles,
Try to be just like a cheerful chick-a-dee
And whistle while you work
Come on get smart, tune up and start
To whistle while you work
Followed by ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’ and U2’s ‘It’s a Beautiful Day’ … And yes it is !!
