It's STILL tough and not getting better - so how are we coping?

littleowl

ceridwen wrote: »

Actually - this is one of the minus points of getting older in my book. I spent many years thinking "Things are gonna get better" and doing my own personal bit to try and campaign for things "getting better". So - no...I don't feel I wasted my time/energy etc trying to improve Society - I did what I could and I'm pleased with some of what I helped towards/achieved personally/etc. But I do get very very down when I wonder if people will ever abandon their own "personal interests" in favour of the "greater good" and often don't feel very hopeful at all as to whether that will ever happen. Any day of the week I can see numerous examples - walking round the streets/studying posts on MSE/looking at the papers that many many people are still putting their own "personal interests" way higher priority than the "greater good" and I do really struggle sometimes on the days when I feel most hopeless about the chances of things ever changing in that respect - but I must still have some hope that things will change for the better - because I pick myself back up off the floor and try again and again and try to "think positive" that the prevailing "societal mindset" will change..

Guess I just have to keep working personally on not losing my temper too frequently when I spot yet more thoroughly depressing examples of the current "societal mindset"...

Things are gonna get better...they ARE...they ARE....<walks off repeating this to myself firmly> One idealist not quite "dead and buried" yet here chez ceridwen.......:cool:

Unfortunately ceridwen few people notice until their own lives are affected. By the time they do it will probably be too late. Already families are finding that two adults plus two children equalling four cars causes problems parking outside their house. Unfortunately the usual response is anger and altercations with neighbours rather than an inward look at their own lives and a balancing of the necessity/convenience over some sort of social accountability and consideration for the environment - or even an intelligent rationalisation of work/leisure needs and a combining of resources rather than a selfish disregard of anything which causes them individual inconvenience.
Things are not going to get better, they will be far worse until individuals understand themselves and realise that this lovely world is being destroyed by selfishness, greed and wanting things which, when they get them, they find are just hollow, unnecessary and probably expensive accoutrements which do not fulfil them as they expected.
Oh dear - sorry to be a Jeremiah but I am getting so p****d off at the general selfishness I see every day. Fortunately I then come across an act of sheer kindness which cheers me up!

mardatha

Well the thing is, that people are individuals and will think as they want to...we are all different and nobody can force a point of view on others. Because that way lies danger - think "Stepford Wives" . So even if people are totally batty in their thinking (not talking about anybody at all in here apart from meself ) then that is their right. Because we are all equal on this earth. You know ?

penelopedee_2

Being a bit of an ole hippy here, I believe it takes all sorts to make the world go round. I think most people secretly realise the way we are living is not sustainable. Luckily on here we are trying to do something about it. Rose tinted glasses or whatever, but I'd like to think everyone else will catch up eventually.

Its all about caring and sharing and trying to do the right thing, thats what makes us feel good

v1ckyt

ceridwen wrote: »

:eek: Ooh...you have my sympathies there...

Recall going on a recent demonstration against the (was) proposed 3rd runway for Heathrow and being absolutely horrified at just how many planes were swooping over the tops of peoples homes and how low they were - it felt like one could stand on the roof and reach up and touch them:eek::eek::eek:. I simply could not believe that there were plans afoot to demolish Sipson Village to allow for even more planes swooping everywhere (it was quite a nice little village - with a good community feel - nice village green, etc - nothing wrong with it IF all the planes had stopped flying overhead disturbing it). Anyways - we WON:D:T:D:T - and stopped that 3rd runway...<doing cartwheel smilies>:D - but I was very aware that I couldnt have tolerated all those darn planes flying over my head anyway and would have been tempted to stand there taking potshots at them if I had lived there as it was ...it was horrendous living there anyway ...

It must be an absolute nightmare to live right underneath plane flight paths - and people in that position must often be thinking "Peak Oil cannot come soon enough...what can I do to bankrupt airlines asap?" - well I certainly would be for sure....
(...and yes...that was the last straw and has stopped me ever flying again - as I simply couldnt put people through living with airplanes flying overhead like that just so I could have a foreign holiday....I'd hate myself for being so selfish....).

Hi there Ceridwen,
Thank you for saying that, I was brought up in Sipson, and you're right, it was a great little village community. I lived until I went to uni in one of the houses that were to be compulsorily purchased and destroyed, went to the village school and sang in the choir at the church in the next village, all of which were to have been destroyed. Fortunately I and my family moved out of the area a few years ago, shortly before the 3rd runway was announced, and its nice to hear of people who weren't going to be directly affected feeling strongly enough to protest against the plans. Yes the ariport provides many jobs, but in order to provide another runway the human cost to people living and working in the area would be huge.

We all now live in Dorset and Somerset, and after a recent visit back to the area last week including a drive through Sipson and surrounding area, wild horses (or jet engines!) couldn't drag me back!

taplady

Lambanana - hope you get a good result from your interview!

DS1 had his interview and its looking good so far! he's got to do a radio show tomorrow lunchtime and if its good enough he's got the job:j we'll all be listening of course so more finger crossing tomorrow and hoping it goes well for him!

DS2's interview tomorrow morning so a bit of a stressful day for us!

EstherH

Oh taplady that is a stressful day for you. Hope it goes well for them both.

Esther

ceridwen

mardatha wrote: »

Well the thing is, that people are individuals and will think as they want to...we are all different and nobody can force a point of view on others. Because that way lies danger - think "Stepford Wives" . So even if people are totally batty in their thinking (not talking about anybody at all in here apart from meself ) then that is their right. Because we are all equal on this earth. You know ?

I understand where you are coming from - but the thing is that if people don't restrain themselves and think of the "greater good" - then they are pushing down other people and stomping all over them. I don't see it as being someone's right to stomp all over others or the Earth in order to exercise their free will to be "different" (ie very much the same as the vast majority of other people....:cool:).

One of my little themes I have been thinking on recently is that it would be very helpful if everyone realised that they personally will be accountable for their actions at some point - but, with so many people not having any sort of appropriate religious beliefs that tell them that they will be and define for them what are deemed to be "accountable actions" - then how are they to know this is so? No wonder - most people do exactly what they please regardless of anyone else...I find that understandable and often wonder if I would do exactly what I please regardless if I thought I would never be accountable for my actions - or whether I restrain myself because I believe I WILL have to account for them?

But then - my father is basically a humanist - so he doesnt have this "will have to account for" thing in his head that I do and still tries to behave in a way he feels is morally acceptable (though I don't agree with some of his conclusions..)- so don't know the answer to that...

northwest1965

Good news girls, I had a reply from gailey she is fine:T

Did you see the Autumn line up for tv? Sue Perkins and Giles Coren (I love that pair together) are doing a reality show 'The Goof Life'. Apparently its 35years since that was on tv

http://www.bbc.co.uk/tv/comingup/giles-and-sue-live-the-good-life/

northwest1965

penelopedee wrote: »

Being a bit of an ole hippy here, I believe it takes all sorts to make the world go round. I think most people secretly realise the way we are living is not sustainable. Luckily on here we are trying to do something about it. Rose tinted glasses or whatever, but I'd like to think everyone else will catch up eventually.

Its all about caring and sharing and trying to do the right thing, thats what makes us feel good

I think most of us on here try to do our bit, I for 1 recycle everything, I buy 'good' meat and I try never to throw anything away. Its charity shop or recycle. Ihave plgs that knock all electrical items off at the socket. I think if you can do a little bit it all helps

thriftmonster

I also think most OSers are fairly green and if the rest of the country joined us it would be a lot better - except there wouldn't be a lot in the charity shops to buy:D

But I also read a lot about it - found Sharon Astyk's writings via Ceridwen's blog - and whilst I admire her immensely, a lot of the time it depresses me because I can't do all that. Same with things like "It's Not Easy Being Green"

So I shall keep stumbling on, doing the best I can here in my time and place and trying to be as green as I can.