Monday, August 12, 2013

“Walden” is one of the best pieces ever written on an alternative to mainstream existence


A cog in the corporate machine. I work for them. I earn their meaningless currency. I try to support good causes and I try to buy local products. It try to consider how every dollar I spend is going to affect the world around me and every aspect of that impact. I try to buy things that are made in the United States where I know we at least have some regulations on working conditions and pollution and stuff.

But even if I buy lotion that was made in the U.S., where was the bottle made??? I don't know. And so I am still most likely supporting greedy corporations exploiting workers in poor, third-world countries, exposing those workers to despicable, deadly conditions, poisoning the planet. Do you even know how plastic is made?? Do you know the side effects of producing plastic? I will post more about all that another time.

But, there is an alternative to being a cog in the corporate machine. There are alternatives to supporting their fucked up practices. There are more noble ways to live life. You do not need to buy “groceries”


I see all these people walking around like zombies, glued to their computers so they remain distracted and do not even have to think for themselves. People have been raised and programmed, taught to be good little cogs in the machine. They are taught to show up to a place on time and rewarded with gold stars so they can show up to some other place on time and be rewarded with “money” that is not even backed by gold. They are taught to trade in tickets for prizes. You work forty hours a week for the machine and you can trade in your tickets for whatever brain numbing smartphone and stupid plastic case that you want. Fucking stupid meaningless existence. Worthless. Worthless. Completely void and worthless.

Do you ever wonder if there is something more? Something different? Something to this existence that could actually be deemed meaningful??? Something beyond dresses and fake eyelashes? Something more real than plastic nails??? Something more meaningful and precious than shoes and smart phones and overpriced crap that will just eventually end up in a landfill. Worthless. Wasteful. Stupid.

Insipidity, plastic personalities, cookie cutter people who care about what purchase of a material possession they are making next or what car a guy drives are stale to me. People interested in or mesmerized by shopping in chain stores or seeing the next mainstream movie are bland as fuck. People who are unaware of the pointless hamster wheel on which they are reeling remind me of zombies. Really there are so many alternative states of being, way of living, possibilities, priorities, passions and pastimes than those dictated by mainstream culture and mindless, meaning less consumerism.

“Walden” is just one example of infinite alternatives. Here I will link for your convenience the ebook and the audio book, but as always I think it would be far better to pick up a tangible copy, words printed on pages, perhaps at your local library. One of the best gifts I ever bought myself.



To really live. To consider things of actual meaning. To live without needing to be the mindless consumer. Did you know food grows on trees and can be found in places other than farmers markets and grocery stores? Do you know what people believed prior to the concept of owning land as property? Stuff to think about. You do not have to be some brainless puppet. I mean by all means you can choose to be, if you really want. But would not you rather that it would be your own fully conscious decision? Educate yourself. Think new thoughts. Try new things. Take the good that you can find and share it with the world around you. Be brave enough to be yourself.

Life is your garden; dig it.

Wishing you all that is wonderful in this world. Take care.


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