Comments - Twog Blog 12-27 Tom A - Transition Whatcom2024-03-28T17:30:09Zhttp://transitionwhatcom.ning.com/profiles/comment/feed?attachedTo=2723460%3ABlogPost%3A38981&xn_auth=noThe gifts of time & commu…tag:transitionwhatcom.ning.com,2011-01-04:2723460:Comment:395812011-01-04T00:10:08.724ZHeather Khttp://transitionwhatcom.ning.com/profile/HeatherK
<p>The gifts of time & community are so much more precious than our culture's toys, ie 'stuff".</p>
<p>I appreciate thoughts Tom and the vision you put into action. I too have experienced living among folks who enjoy life without lots of stuff. It seems the tropical climate & culture is the location I experience this the most. But I've also seen how 'paradise' is being paved over with roads, golf courses, shopping plaza's....it feels like a cancer sometimes.</p>
<p>I'm also…</p>
<p>The gifts of time & community are so much more precious than our culture's toys, ie 'stuff".</p>
<p>I appreciate thoughts Tom and the vision you put into action. I too have experienced living among folks who enjoy life without lots of stuff. It seems the tropical climate & culture is the location I experience this the most. But I've also seen how 'paradise' is being paved over with roads, golf courses, shopping plaza's....it feels like a cancer sometimes.</p>
<p>I'm also personally drawn to simplify the stuff that surrounds me, though I find its a challenge to do this living with others, as the space I clear out gets filled up with someone else's 'stuff'.</p>
<p>I've also noticed how much of my time in the past ten years has been spent using the phone and the computer, another form of 'stuff' that I suspect uses up more time than it saves.</p>
<p>I'm glad we are neighbors and if you ever have a need to borrow some stuff, I'm open to sharing!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Here are a couple quotes to share:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Thomas Jefferson said he didn’t think we could have democracy unless at<br/>least 20% of the population was self-supporting on small farms so they were<br/>independent enough to be able to tell an oppressive government to 'stuff it'.<br/>It is very difficult to control people who can create products without<br/>purchasing inputs from the system, who can market their products directly<br/>thus avoiding the involvement of mercenary middlemen, who can butcher<br/>animals and preserve foods without reliance on industrial conglomerates, and<br/>who can’t be bullied because they can feed their own faces."<br/>- <em>Eliot Coleman, Author, Farmer, Human Being</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>* * * * * * * * * * * *</strong><br/>"... when we finally know we are dying,<br/>and all other sentient beings are dying with us,<br/>we start to have a burning, almost heartbreaking sense<br/>of the fragility and preciousness of each moment and each being,<br/>and from this can grow a deep, clear,<br/>limitless compassion for all beings." - <em>Sogyal Rinpoche</em></p> Thanks Tom, I really enjoyed…tag:transitionwhatcom.ning.com,2010-12-29:2723460:Comment:390962010-12-29T18:47:30.766ZAngela MacLeodhttp://transitionwhatcom.ning.com/profile/AngelaMacLeod
<p>Thanks Tom, I really enjoyed reading this.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It's refreshing to hear someone talk about aging and even death the way you have, it seems like a taboo subject in our youth oriented culture. With more awareness of the imperminence of life, I have become more keenly aware of the gift of life and what is really important to me. Being older gives me a clarity about what I'm here for that I didn't have when I was younger.</p>
<p>This part that you wrote really struck me as…</p>
<p>Thanks Tom, I really enjoyed reading this.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It's refreshing to hear someone talk about aging and even death the way you have, it seems like a taboo subject in our youth oriented culture. With more awareness of the imperminence of life, I have become more keenly aware of the gift of life and what is really important to me. Being older gives me a clarity about what I'm here for that I didn't have when I was younger.</p>
<p>This part that you wrote really struck me as well:</p>
<p><em>It hit me that one of the significant things that fossil fuels</em><br/><em>have provided us is time. This cheap available energy in some senses has made</em><br/><em>
it possible for most of us to have more time to do things that are not directly</em><br/><em>
related to our survival. The capitalist model has usurped that time by</em><br/><em>
addicting us to stuff so that we each contribute to the flow of wealth to the</em><br/><em>
top through the dedication of our time to getting more stuff and maintaining</em><br/><em>
the stuff we have.</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>I do really believe that this era of cheap fossil fuels has given us a life that is radically different than any other time in human history. With this freed up time we have been able to develop some lines of abilities in ourselves that we didn't have time or resources for. But we've also lost some things....and have been stunted in other lines of development. On the whole, we humans have not developed the capacity to choose to limit ourselves, when abundance of stuff is easily available. In the past, nature provided the limits and we had to live with in them.<em> </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Thanks for your thoughts.<br/></em></p> My goodness, what a story abo…tag:transitionwhatcom.ning.com,2010-12-28:2723460:Comment:390392010-12-28T22:43:08.070ZJuliet Thompsonhttp://transitionwhatcom.ning.com/profile/JulietThompson
<p>My goodness, what a story about Fiji!</p>
<p>Thanks for this, Tom.</p>
<p>My goodness, what a story about Fiji!</p>
<p>Thanks for this, Tom.</p>