The social contract is so important to us, isn’t it? In our own lives, as adults, my husband and I are more willing to break from the contract than many. Where we struggle is in regard to our children. As they grow older and need to navigate their own social lives, it becomes harder to stick to our ideals rigidly. And I think that’s ok, but it’s definitely something I’m very conscious of and think about proactively.
I’m trying to balance our choices there, sticking to our ideals as much as possible but not to the point where we cause our children to feel ostracized and then lead to a bitterness in them. I’m trying to give them the confidence and intellectual & spiritual grounding to be confident in departing from dominant culture, but retain the ability to integrate when and how they desire. It’s tricky, and I’m sure we don’t always get it right.
And then, that question in and of itself speaks so highly to the importance of developing supportive social networks. We don’t all need to agree 100% on every issue, but we need aligned social networks that make it easier to walk down new pathways. I’m grateful to have largely built that in my own life.
Nate, your comment on what we might do but only if (everyone)/others also did that resonates strongly with a concept I’ve been considering “Jump Together”.
I have a view that what and all we need to do is simple - many of us (not all) need to consume less: nothing more, just consume less. BUT ….
We only do that if we know others will do that too - we actually are all on the same boat. We all need to choose to “jump together”, together but not yet - no one can make such a change suddenly and of course it takes time & preparation to co-ordinate.
So a self-organizing & independent group make a future date - 8/10 years out - and we collectively build momentum for the “jump”, encourage practice (in consuming less), enable others to become more ready for a new environment “post-jump”, and work out how we best support each other in and through this.
Consuming less means: eating more simply & less, stop buying many things, reuse (& share/repair) more, travel around less, talk to each other more, support new & young folk more, improve our use of energy.
It will be scary, preparation & practice will help build our confidence that it can be done. It will also - I think - mean we become more comfortable with the pattern of life & death. There will of course be challenges & problems.
Do you think it might be possible to get more than a Billion of us (in say 10 years time) to wear “Jump Together” glasses and Jump?
It’s so good to find some suggestions for how to apply the theory— thank you.
Very pleased to learn you will be converting podcast material to essay form, as some of us are confirmed readers who eschew screens wherever possible.
The social contract is so important to us, isn’t it? In our own lives, as adults, my husband and I are more willing to break from the contract than many. Where we struggle is in regard to our children. As they grow older and need to navigate their own social lives, it becomes harder to stick to our ideals rigidly. And I think that’s ok, but it’s definitely something I’m very conscious of and think about proactively.
I’m trying to balance our choices there, sticking to our ideals as much as possible but not to the point where we cause our children to feel ostracized and then lead to a bitterness in them. I’m trying to give them the confidence and intellectual & spiritual grounding to be confident in departing from dominant culture, but retain the ability to integrate when and how they desire. It’s tricky, and I’m sure we don’t always get it right.
And then, that question in and of itself speaks so highly to the importance of developing supportive social networks. We don’t all need to agree 100% on every issue, but we need aligned social networks that make it easier to walk down new pathways. I’m grateful to have largely built that in my own life.
Nate, your comment on what we might do but only if (everyone)/others also did that resonates strongly with a concept I’ve been considering “Jump Together”.
I have a view that what and all we need to do is simple - many of us (not all) need to consume less: nothing more, just consume less. BUT ….
We only do that if we know others will do that too - we actually are all on the same boat. We all need to choose to “jump together”, together but not yet - no one can make such a change suddenly and of course it takes time & preparation to co-ordinate.
So a self-organizing & independent group make a future date - 8/10 years out - and we collectively build momentum for the “jump”, encourage practice (in consuming less), enable others to become more ready for a new environment “post-jump”, and work out how we best support each other in and through this.
Consuming less means: eating more simply & less, stop buying many things, reuse (& share/repair) more, travel around less, talk to each other more, support new & young folk more, improve our use of energy.
It will be scary, preparation & practice will help build our confidence that it can be done. It will also - I think - mean we become more comfortable with the pattern of life & death. There will of course be challenges & problems.
Do you think it might be possible to get more than a Billion of us (in say 10 years time) to wear “Jump Together” glasses and Jump?