Real options don't just fall out of the sky. We must actively seek them. Seeking the information to guide us in making decisions is necessary to make us capable of such decisions. The more open minded we are the more possibilities present themselves. We have been trained for so long that “beef is whats for dinner” we have closed our minds off to several other options. Sure we still eat pork, chicken, and fish (in spite of the cattle industry). But few are the acceptable options beyond that. Because of the limited nature of economically feasible production animals, and the success of big business in refining our choices down to the ones they offer...
We see situations arise like the horrid conditions we hear about on feed lots and chicken farms. Cows that are pumped full of antibiotics to fight off infection, from being handled in such an industrial manner, fed high grain diets and growth hormones to fatten them up to get the highest possible return per head. The sale of “downers”, or cows that are on deaths door due to improper care. That are in bad enough shape that no one would find acceptable (even someone who knows nothing about cattle) If it could be seen as a still “living” animal. But it looks fine if its on sale in the meat department of the local grocers wrapped in styrofoam and shrink wrap.
Most people consider themselves omnivores if they eat the four meats and a few veggies, when in fact we use to have a direct experience in growing our own, more diverse varieties of food. Not so long ago people raised their own rabbits, squab (pigeons), ducks, goats (for meat and milk products), fish (in family ponds), ect... (the list could get quite long). We knew all about these animals from birth to death, what they ate, any trauma they suffered, their overall health, ability to fight off sickness and disease, and their general living conditions.
We had a connection with our food that few of us now, can understand. Most common today is the “food comes from the store” mindset. I have run into people that can't tolerate the thought of killing an animal or hunting, but love bacon. There seems to be a complete disassociation with the actual process of getting the critter to hold still long enough to wrap it in butcher's paper and stuff it into the cooler. One of the things I have personally found to be most difficult to do is, getting people I know to try new things (if you can attach a fancy French or Italian name it helps). Its hard to get rabbit to taste like the beef we have become accustomed to. I have a hard time myself sometimes, wrapping my head around a new taste, but I just try to convince myself to appreciate things for what they are. I am one of the “wonder bread” generation, and for a long time that's all I would eat (now I have trouble tolerating it, but I will if necessary).
It's hard to make a change to something more sustainable until you can develop a taste for it. Overcoming the preconceived expectations we all have is half the battle. One of the first “exotic” meats I tried was “tatonka”, (buffalo) it's a lot like beef, with less fat. I love the stuff and it usually comes from a smaller, more organic, kinds of farms or ranches. Cooking with it is a little different than beef though, you can do most of the same stuff you would with beef if you add a little fat like ground pork. Of course it is also possible to forgo the pork and just learn how to cook it without drying it out. I will get into cooking unconventional food at a later date, but I'll just say its a pretty tame step to trying something new that most people could find acceptable, and leave it at that for now.
To have any amount of true freedom in our lives today we have to aggressively challenge our current habits. Consider why they have become habits, and decide if they are healthy, or kings that rule over us, keeping us tied to the slavery of an increasingly more cumbersome machine. I am talking about our food here as a practical example, and also as a metaphor to demonstrate how much we have to work on. Some of the things I mention here really would just gross some people out, and for that reason I kept it pretty tame, but I personally have entertained much more exotic options than these.
The only way we know how to make a living is with a regular job. By and large we don't even work for ourselves, even in the conventional sense. We punch a clock for someone else. But how well, and how many of us, can actually support ourselves? Our needs as people are actually pretty simple, we all need decent shelter, a regular food supply, water, and socialization. Even if we have all the basic requirements met we have to be able to communicate with others. It can be difficult to find “peers” to associate with when you are actively exploring lifestyle options. Most of the time people stick with the mainstream until they get so frustrated they rebel out of a sense of anger, or paranoia, that drives them to seek options to the lifestyle they currently live. Few seem to do it before they reach this state, making it hard to find level headed conversation on these topics. Some go the other way and have a “utopian” outlook that restricts the ability to have a rational dialog, and could be the source of some future disillusionment. Maintaining a level headed approach is required for success even when dealing with the unconventional.
We have become accustomed to certain luxuries that we would be hard pressed to do without. I am currently taking advantage of several like, the laptop I am typing this on, the electricity to run it, and the espresso I am drinking to fuel my thought. While I would be willing to give up the coffee, I would find it much more difficult to do the same with the electricity and the laptop. What I can do however, is find a sustainable way to enjoy the life enhancements I choose to indulge in. I can get solar panels to produce the power I desire, or a small windmill, possibly a water wheel. I can also reduce the amount of electricity I require, to make generating what I want a lot easier.
I and my traveling partner have spent substantial periods of time with no electricity except what we can generate with our crank flashlights. For entertainment we read to each other, play dice, and cards. We went to bed much earlier without a light switch to illuminate our living space, giving us the opportunity to be awake and alert early in the mornings. This has afforded us the chance to see wildlife and other things we had previously been completely unaware of and I wouldn't want to give that up.
It's really amazing how much more you can appreciate, when you take on the responsibility of entertaining yourself instead of giving your time over to the latest flavor on the boob tube, as opposed to your loved ones. Everything I do to “slow down” my life seems to bring with it a more and more valuable experience.
The richness of life we sacrifice on the alter of convenience is robbing us of the value of that life.
