Be the change

Since listening to talks by Jaques Fresco, and seeing the Zeitgeist Movement videos around the same time, some 15 or so years ago, exposing the inner workings of the capitalist society that we are born into, my perceptions were changed radically.

Up until that time, I had never really questioned the systems, be it political or monetary. It was a complete eye opener, and I found many, although not all, of the things that Jaques said, good food for thought, changing from a currency based society to that of a resource based one certainly made a lot more sense than continuing down the current path.

Jaques was an engineer, so was very practically minded, offering clear and logical answers to many problems within our current society, be it city planning and infrastructure management or more basic ideals on how to live sustainably. I’ll leave it up to the reader to watch a few of his earlier videos, which I found quite fascinating and fresh.

Up until that “moment”, I hadn’t really questioned much about the way we live, I just allowed myself to be dragged along with everyone else. I never cared very much about money, new cars and clothes and the rest of the things that a large proportion of society seem to focus on. I admit, I was a bit of a technophobe, amazed at the advances in technology … but I often felt at odds with the modern lifestyle.

I started to dig around the internet, watching videos like “The lightbulb conspiracy” … which talked about planned obsolescence and how it was applied to just about everything that we buy, even food. I was amazed at how this was allowed to happen, a touch naive I admit, but it was just plain bonkers from an outside perspective of our society. Being part of the problem, you fail to see the problem, you just feel empty and unfulfilled. Albeit a small part of a big problem, fueled by consumerism and our incessant need for stuff to make us happier, or rather that’s what we are led to believe.

Not so many decades ago, a child’s Christmas present was something made, something special … a doll’s house for your daughter or a fort for your son, made with love. Now it’s molded from plastic made on a production line and destined for the land fill by the following Christmas. Children are bombarded from a very early age with something that was made up and marketed for consumption, just long enough but not for too long, until the better thing arrives packaged and delivered to the doorsteps. As parents, you just want what’s best for your kids, or at the very least you give them what they seem to want … either from the TV or what their friends are talking about at school.

In my teens (I’m 58 now), I can still remember shops that sold that special gift for that special person. Spending my very first Christmas as a wage earner, looking for special gifts for the family … and I still remember each gift and the fact that the store owner (and his family), seeing as it was close to closing time, drove me back home with all my gifts … certainly the kind of customer service you wouldn’t dream of getting these days.

Over the past 40 years, my interest in money has lessened. As essential as it is, in order to live a relatively “normal” life … it’s never enough. I’ve usually chosen to make do (and mend) … throwing things away just seems immoral, yet everyone does it, some more than others.

I had a computer shop for nearly 10 years and whilst I couldn’t compete with the online box shifters … sellers of ready made computers, I could provide a much needed service that was lacking, within a 50 mile radius prior to opening. I did manage to sell a lot of systems though, all self built for purpose (gaming, office etc) as customers knew that they could come to me with a problem and know that I would deal with it, unlike many online stores of the time. Making a profit was kind of secondary to seeing a happy customer leave the shop. Obviously, the power companies, landlord and local council love profits, so sadly the shop had to close.

Realizing I just wasn’t cut-out for business, although I did enjoy the service work and being a part of the local community, as much as an introvert can be anyway, I was lucky enough to land an office job, because I was “good with computers”. After a crash course in Excel and learning software skills I had no clue about, perhaps the only thing I didn’t need to learn about was how to treat customers, even the difficult kind.

I was happy enough, and the work was varied enough to keep me somewhat fulfilled, also choosing to live in a van gave me more financial and mental freedom. I now used very little fuel, less water and provisions and fed the bonkers system less and less.

Making life changes is the only way out of the current situation. Politics is as corrupt as it is unjust, so don’t look for changes from above. Changes can only happen at a personal level and no group or organization has all the answers for everyone.

The system is highly manipulative as are the players. They know exactly how to control people from day one. Each generation of elite is highly trained in the art of keeping a tight rein and all threats are taken care of using mainstream media and corporate means. You don’t have to dig for hours to find the specifics, it’s all around us in the open.

My only answer is to make better choices and try to empower those that are having a hard time. This is a war for your mind. Look and question other peoples behaviour, then look more closely at your own. Try to stay present in all things. If you get angry or fearful, ask yourself why. Find your true nature and be that person, not some avatar that you think others will like.

You were born into this world to be you. Not some product or source to be used and thrown away, like in our current culture. True, not all cultures are the same. You can learn a lot by looking at other cultures … at street level, not governmental. Although I do find that most people spend most of their time reacting or escaping something that’s not directly affecting them. Protests, I feel, are a thing of the past. If you want to fix the world, fix yourself first. There are many blueprints out there, someone you gel with, be them, at least until you find your true self. How you want your world to be starts with you. Don’t reach for your phone for answers, at least the kind of answers that make the biggest difference.

It just takes a spark to ignite action. Whether it be an illness, a culmination of daily things that wear you down so much that you have to act. Boredom is also nature’s way of getting you to make changes, seek other more fulfilling paths. Money well spent can help your daily life and lessen the support of our sick society. A society driven by market forces and not by its people.

A simple example is solar power. It’s a very cheap option, more so in hotter countries. Yet, it’s seldom used, the preferred method is yielding to the over priced power of the grid. Installation companies make it more expensive, buying from a supplier direct and having a technically minded member of the family watch a few YouTube videos cuts the costs by a huge amount. You also become more aware of the power that you use (and the waste), so gain a valuable insight into what your needs are. Work out the cost of 12 months power bills compared to the cost of 2 or 3 kilowatts of panels. You can also start with a few hundred watts just for lighting and low energy uses and see how much you can bring your bill down.

The main thing is that you become more empowered and less reliant on the grid.

One other thing that I’ve been very aware of, is that corporation based governments (let’s face it they are), will react to any changes in peoples behaviour, seeking to capitalize on it, feed from it through extra taxation or blocking it with additional regulations and laws.

Just ignore the circus that is politics, it’s a waste of time and energy. Any seemingly good changes that are made will be quickly circumvented. Whenever a promising individual steps up to the political plate, they are quickly and surgically put down, after all there’s a lot to be lost in the ensuing power struggle, of course the mainstream media is used to its full potential.

I do hope one day that a money based society is replaced with one that makes everyone equal, able to live and have a relatively happy existence, regardless of culture and beliefs.

Thanks for reading.