"Fear is static that prevents me from hearing myself." ~Samuel Butler
I spent part of my weekend at a symposium, designed to give my hope about the track we are on with our planet. It was advertised as being uplifting and inspiring, and even in the introduction, the presenters said they wouldn't spend a lot of time talking about the declining state of the global environment. But in fact, that is exactly what they did -- focus on the negative. The program seemed to be designed to put us through an emotional roller coaster so that we would leave not so much feeling empowered, but frantic about the short amount of time we have to become empowered.
In a conversation with another participant, she mentioned that she feels like the technology she has surrounded herself with makes her feel safe. Isn't that true? Cell phones help us keep track of each other. Our temperature control systems in our houses help us feel like we won't die of temperature extremes. Our cars get our kids safely to and from school, so some stranger won't swipe them while they are walking. We constantly are confronted by the fact that our children no longer are allowed to explore their neighborhoods and we no longer know our neighbors. We connect with people now through technology, not with pen and paper, not face to face.
I ask myself, do these modern conveniences really offer us safety, or are they just another way for corporations to play into our fears so that we will have an illusion of safety and therefore consume more of the products? When my kids walk around the neighborhood, what is the actual chance that someone will snatch them or otherwise harm them? Do my kids need, at the ages of 7 and 10, to have cell phones to keep them safe? Does my house need to be this cozy? Do I really need to heat up that leftover rice and beans in the microwave to be safe?
Let's assume for a moment that these objects are a false safety net. Once we have them, how do we rid ourselves of them? There is an assumption that when I have guests enter my house, that they will not shiver or sweat because I have controlled the temperature to keep them comfortable. And we all know that we can't live without that cellular phone, or our microwave, television, radio, refrigerator, lights, cars, or computers. If someone took all of those things away, most Americans would probably feel very vulnerable and lost. We are stuck in a system of consumption, and we're being told that our system needs to change. We are paralyzed.
"Fear is static that prevents me from hearing myself."
Static is something you hear on the radio between stations, but it's also another word for unchanging. Static is the opposite of dynamic. Fear causes US to become static, unable to do what we know we must in order to fix things. Some of can't even get into the habit of turning off the lights at night, and some of us leave one on, just in case a burglar should come by.
My new fear is that if we keep this level of consumption up, we're going to scare ourselves out of any chance of making things right. My goal is to turn my fear into action. Does that mean I live with less stuff? Gosh, I hope so. I want to explore the possibilities that this world isn't such a scary place when you experience it head on.
