I believe in getting closer to the earth, to acknowledge the living energy that abounds. I believe in a new order.
No "manifesto" here. I have been seeing that term thrown about everywhere which, when boiled down manifestos are really marketing plans disguised as self-help.
In my minds eye I can see a return to a more natural way of living. Not at all austere. Simplified yes but very, very comfortable. I see more homes made of wood and stone, thatched roofs and large gardens bursting with harvest. Fenced parcels of land with green grass and animals roaming peacefully. Creation of real communities that are in fact communities. People who choose to live together, and help each other as neighbors. Why did we ever move away from this way of living?
If we look at history, particularly American history I can understand the initial evolution. People came here to escape persecution, oppression and poverty. Many were farmers who came from over tilled, burned out land and wanted a chance to be free. But for some, the first taste of freedom created the desire to multiply fortune and the quickest way to do this was through industrialization. Automation and repetition created "efficiency" as defined by those that profited most from it. Interestingly enough, these same terms are used today to defend the increased outsourcing and off shoring of American jobs- automation and repetition create "efficiency" as defined by corporations and lower production costs increase revenue.
Let's look at the definition of efficiency. Webster defined efficiency as:
[Noun] The act of producing effects; a causing to be or exist; effectual agency. The manner of this divine efficiency is far above us. Gravity does not proceed from the efficiency of any contingent or unstable agent.. Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary.
Within the Webster definition link there were many definitions of "efficiency". So, efficiency really does mean different things to different people. For corporations, I believe they use the revenue centric definition as follows:
The efficiency ratio of a business is expenses as a percentage of revenue (expenses / revenue) with a few variations. A lower percentage is better since that means expenses are low and earnings are big. It's the "reverse" operating leverage: revenue / expenses. (references)
Other definitions of efficiency:
r=P/C of the amount P of some valuable resource produced, per amount C of valuable resources consumed
Economic efficiency is a general term for the value assigned to a situation by some measure designed to capture the amount of waste or "friction" or other undesirable and undesirable economic features present. The term microeconomic reform refers to any policy designed to increase economic efficiency. (references)
I suppose my point to all of this is that many of us, myself included get caught up in someone else's subjective reality. What if I or you just simply decide not too? What if our reality is our own choosing?
What you are reading is the ramblings of a middle class wife and mother who works full time. If I am focused on definitions in this post than middle class for me = broke. Living paycheck to paycheck with little to no savings. Why do I do this? The answer is because I have been believing in someone else's reality. Instead of my own.
It's time to stop.
