Pure Mind

No amount of money can buy a pure mind, nor can anyone purify it for you. Only you can do that for yourself.

Nothing is more precious.

 

"When there are clouds and fog everywhere, the world is dark, but that does not mean the sun has decomposed. 

Why is there no light? The light is never destroyed; it is just enshrouded by clouds and fog.

 

The pure mind of all living beings is like this, merely covered up by the dark clouds of obsession with objects, arbitrary thoughts, psychological afflictions, and view and opinions. 

 

If you can just keep the mind still so that errant thought does not arise, the reality of nirvana will naturally appear. This is how we know the inherent mind is originally pure."

- Hongren (602-675)

NBA Blog - Free Forever!

In this era of rapidly increasing inflation - fear not! The Not Buying Anything blog has always been free and will remain free forever. 

0% increase in our rates.

However, they say you get what you pay for...

Also, we have never had any advertising, and we promise we never will.

This blog is not flogging any ebooks or merch of any sort. As a matter of fact, we have never tried to sell you anything, and promise we never will.

We are trying to sell a vision of a better future, but that vision is free as well. Our blog doesn't even have a tip jar.

Finally, we will never, ever ask to see your Papers, or threaten you with banishment if you don't share our point of view. 

Our blog is for everyone.

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In My Simple Life

In my simple life

washing the dishes

can be as transcendent

as a walk in the woods.

In my simple life

the inside becomes

more important

than the outside.

In my simple life

the near is 

more important

than the far.

In my simple life

freedom is

more precious

then profit.

In my simple life

I have time 

to do shit

like write this post.

Now,

time to 

wash

the dishes.

Ah-ha!

Motivation

“People who died of starvation are not nearly as pitiful
as those who died of overeating.” 
― Mokokoma Mokhonoana

There is a reason it's called simple living, not easy living. That is because living simply is often not easy.

It may be hard, but it is also beautiful. Still, one may need motivation to continue on the path.

I don't need much more motivation than pondering the state of the planet.

The most motivating for me concerns something we strangely don't hear much about - starvation. 

I wonder why that is, considering our current focus on "saving lives."

Starvation Facts

- almost 800 million people lack adequate access to food resources

- every year about 10 million people die of starvation. 3 million are children. 

- after declining 5% from 2004 to 2019, the number of undernourished  has increased by more than 165 million since then, a crisis driven by the Four C's of the Apocalypse: Conflict, Consumerism, Climate, and COVID.

 

- the world has always had enough food to feed everyone, and still does. 

 

World leaders agreed waaaaaay back in 2000 to commit to eight Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

The first of those goals was "to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger."

Epic fail, if you ask me. 

But no one is asking, because we don't talk about these deaths, or our failure to stop them. They get little attention from the people that can do the most to help.

Since the system managers won't do something about this sad state of affairs (and they won't if it's not profitable to do so), I am motivated to do something myself. 

Living as simply as possible is an action I can take to create more balance in this wildly wobbling world.

Whenever my simple life gets hard and I need some motivation to carry on, I think about all those hungry people dying by the millions year after year because decision-makers fail to act. 

We don't just need a solution for hunger, but more desperately need a solution for curing our sick system, and the sickos running it.

Living simply helps, but unless we get together to kick this rotten door down, we will be doomed to some day join our undernourished and dying brothers and sisters.

Note: Another big motivator for me and Linda are the readers of our blog. We are motivated and inspired by you. Thank you. 

The Unsimplified

Who is really responsible for The Downfall of Everything that we are currently experiencing? 

Today it's fashionable to blame the unvaxxed, but it won't always be that way.

One problem with laying blame and scapegoating is that you never know who it will be next. Maybe you. Or you, or you, or you. 

Maybe the next group of deplorables to be identified will be the One-Planet-Lifestyle hesitant. 

You know, the selfish anti-simplify people. The dangerously unsimplified that are putting everyone else at risk.

I am talking about the part of the human population that represents the wealthiest 20% and accounts for 76.6% of total private consumption. 

There are global repercussions from consumption generally, and conspicuous consumption especially. 

What does "The Science" say?

Scientists Warning To Humanity 

"The developed nations are the largest polluters in the world today. They must greatly reduce their overconsumption if we are to reduce pressures on resources and the global environment."

"A new ethic is required - a new attitude towards discharging our responsibility for caring for ourselves and the earth. We must no longer allow it to be ravaged. 

This ethic must motivate a great movement, convincing reluctant leaders and reluctant governments and reluctant peoples themselves to effect the needed changes."

This was a warning 25 years ago from the Union of Concerned Scientists along with over 1,700 scientists from around the world.

The same group of scientists issued another warning in 2017, and another in 2019.

And yet we still have reluctant leaders, hesitant governments, and refusenik peoples that instead misdirect us anywhere except for where we should be looking. 

At them.

At who? The science is referring to the unsimplified, the over-consuming. 

The anti-sustainable are killing millions of people every single year, and now threaten all life on earth by refusing to "do the right thing" and cut their consumption.

Instead of a plan that is "by far the most substantial vaccine mandate in history", we may get a plan that is "by far the most substantial simplification mandate in history".

If the unsimplified are ever targeted, get ready for mandates that will make life very uncomfortable for that tiny holdout 20% of the human family that is selfishly holding the rest of us back.

I wonder how many with a present zeal for telling others what to do will support those mandates?

My advise to them? 

"Don't just think about yourself - get simplified now".

Consumer Christmas On Backorder

Consumer Christmas 2021 is on permanent backorder.

"Sorry for the inconvenience - your consumer lifestyle is out of stock."

Also, Santa's elves, reindeer, and wife are all on strike for a living wage and better working conditions.

How about a little box of freedom this holiday season? 

Nope, sorry. 

Also out of stock.

It is shaping up to be our first ever global Buy Nothing Christmas. 

It probably won't be our last, so we are going to have to figure out how to do it without excessive shopping being the focus.

A good time to give the simple and free gifts of love, compassion, and forgiveness. 

They are all still well stocked, but so far are not flying off the shelves.

2022 is shaping up to be very naughty indeed when we find out that we are out of everything. 

Including patience.

Can You Hear The Future Coming?

It is not hard to see that the next 100 years will not be anything like the past 100 years. 

We are in the middle of an unprecedented future shift that is nudging us all in a certain direction, one completely unlike what we used to think of as normal.

The challenges being imposed on us and the planet will require us to adopt a different set of skills than the ones currently putting food on the table.

There is no bad time to start making changes that will positively affect future outcomes. 

David Bowie said, "tomorrow belongs to those that can hear it coming", and I hear a deafening roar right now.

People that haven't already abandoned old ways of thinking and living may have trouble adapting to a quickening timetable that is serving up a less energy intense and materialistic way of life.

Like anything, it is not all bad. There can be great joy in building community, and learning to do things for yourself, like grow, harvest, store, and prepare your own food. 

Our collective shit house is fully engulfed in flames. And so many are still sitting on the pot. What are we waiting for? 

Now is the time for us to confirm our belief in the beauty of our dreams, and make them happen.

Like I have been saying on this blog, since it was birthed in the midst of the calamity of The Great Recession of 2008,

"Simplify now and avoid the rush."

How are you preparing? Leave a comment below.