The way outta any mess is certainly through it. Yes, indeed.
However, the way outta this mess is not by perpetuating what got us here in the first place.
The other day, a customer came into the store inquiring as to if we sold any "Earthing" products.
I knew we carried the Earthing book but I didn't know anything about the other products so I did some quick research. I found a website declaring "Earthing is the landmark discovery..." while selling electronic gadgets that can be put under your feet, in your bed and elsewhere, and that transmit an Earth-like electronic current to your body.
And, I'm like, "Wait! Hold up! This is common sense, people - you don't have to buy anything to connect to the Earth, you can simply walk around in the grass at a park or on a sandy seashore barefooted; you can go camping and sleep on the ground; or you can sit less on chairs and more on the floor. Earthing is a basic instinct that has been bred out of you. YOU DON'T NEED TO BUY IT BACK, you just need to CONNECT TO THE EARTH, NOW."
Then, today, B. says to me that he read some article about research into "the hidden drowsiness epidemic" which is studying how and why so many American kids are falling asleep in class and I'm like, "Duh! They're bored shitless."
There's this great socio-political comic strip that shows a group of Kenyan boys looking out over an African Sahara. In bubbles above their heads, they are talking about the plight of the American child. "I feel sorry for them," one boy says. "Stuck inside for eight hours a day, without fresh air, and forced to study things that have absolutely no relevance to their daily lives." "Yeah, we should have a fundraiser and benefit for them," another boy says.
Annie Leonard's Stories ("The Story of Stuff," "The Story of Broke," "The Story of Plastic Water Bottles," etc) are a simple way to share a dire message. Her newest story, "The Story of Solutions," makes clear that we need to change the end-goal of the game of life from more stuff (including profits) to better well beeing. OUR CHILDREN ARE COUNTING ON US.
