The Three Treasures

What are the three greatest treasures?

Many in consumer-oriented cultures would say fame, power and money. 

Or diamonds, gold, and property. 

In a materialist based value system you can never have too much of any of them.

Not according to the book of Eastern philosophy, the Tao Te Ching. It has a different take on the greatest treasures in life. 

These are known as The Three Treasures. 

These basic virtues are infinitely more beneficial to the self and others than mere material things. 

They can't be bought or stolen or had by nefarious means. To acquire them is a lifetime of focused, concentrated practice. 

But the benefits!

Lao Tzu said he had "just three things to teach". The Three Treasures. 

They are:

1. Simplicity (an absence of luxury, pretentiousness, ornament, etc.; plainness)

2. Patience (to remain quiet, with steady perseverance, having even-tempered care and remaining diligence), and

3. Compassion (a sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it)

The Tao Te Ching concludes,

"Simple in actions and in thoughts, 

you return to the source of being.

 

Patient with both friends and enemies,  

you accord with the way things are.

 

Compassionate toward yourself, 

you reconcile all beings in the world."

Emergencied

It's an emergency. So many emergencies. They are piling up so fast these days it's hard to keep them straight.

It's an emergency of emerging emergencies. How long before we get emergency fatigue?

Why so many emergencies? Because emergencies are useful to those in power. 

Declaring a state of emergency gives leaders special powers, and what leader doesn't like more power? 

This special state is the "one ring to rule them all" without the usual checks and balances. With a stroke of the pen they become little dictators that don't need to worry about messy, plodding democracy.

Two years ago the leaders of "the free world" slipped that ring on and like Bilbo, are now reluctant to take it off.

"A state of emergency or emergency powers is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of their citizens." - Wiki

We should be careful or they will emergency us to death. Maybe that is the idea since they tell us we have an overpopulation problem.

Rest assured that the police will be bashing heads of citizens in the streets, and freedoms/rights will be suspended for our own good. 

It is not a stretch to think a government might manufacture an emergency or two just to get those juicy extra powers.

In Canada our government layered an emergency on an emergency in fine fascist fashion. 

COVID was the first emergency, and then they took the nuclear option (the rarely used Emegencies Act) to declare the mother of all states of emergency so they could crush peaceful protests protesting the first emergency.

Non-violent, lawful protesters found themselves being violently attacked by laws previously used to deal with foreign terrorists and wars. 

There it is. In my country (and many others) peaceful protesters are terrorists now. Domestic terrorists. 

Essentially, if you don't support the government narrative you are a terrorist. And a Nazi. 

It's a global Guantanamo in the making.

And how about the capitalists? Turns out they love a good state of emergency, too.

"Never let a good emergency go to waste," they say.

What will the next "emergency" be? There are so many choices it is hard to pick just one.

WWIII? Global food shortage? Diesel fuel shortage? Computer chip shortage? Baby formula? Eggs? Meat? Monkeypox? Supply chains? Fertilizer? 

How about the climate issue? Have you noticed how Nitrogen Hysteria Syndrome is threatening to kill farms and ranches around the world? 

Wouldn't that lead to a food emergency?

First we had 'global warming', then 'global climate change', then 'global climate crisis', and more recently it has been rebranded as what? 

You guessed it - a "Climate Emergency". 

Oh, no.

We are living in unprecedented times. With a little downsizing, hard work, and preparations you won't get emergencied to death.

And, as usual, we must resist and push back, or we can say goodbye to democracy, if we have ever had it.

Today is a good day to fight the system, and their false flag emergencies.

 

Gross Domestic Happiness

We measure GDP, or gross domestic product, like it actually means something. But NO. It is essentially meaningless. 

A higher GDP does not necessarily mean more progress, success, or happiness.

An oil spill will result in more activity and drive GDP up. Oil spills are good for the economy, but they are not good for anything else.

What we should be measuring is GDH, or gross domestic happiness.

If we did we might find that for all our electronic gizmos, big houses, fancy cars and foreign vacations, we are no happier than we were before we had all that. 

Perhaps less happy.

Who really lives in so-called "shit hole countries"? 

Consumer nations should look in the mirror before attempts to honestly answer that question.

Winning The Rat Race

Two business people, representing The Powers That Shouldn't Be, meet on the smouldering wreckage of civilization.

"Sure we destroyed the environment with our promotion of waste through planned obsolescence and excessive consumption.

Sure we crushed the family structure and social cohesion with our emphasis on individuality and inequality.

Sure we propagandized the masses into submission after tainting all notions of truth, justice, freedom and autonomy.

Sure we hit all public institutions with the wrecking ball of self-interest and corruption.

Sure we preached at the altar of the false Gods of Progress and Infinite Growth.

 

Sure we personally benefited from, and sometimes hastened, the deaths of millions and millions of innocents.

 

But for a glorious golden moment in time we created for ourselves a heap of profit!

Now, let us congratulate ourselves on a job well done."

They shake hands, then return home to their houses made of cash. 

Later, they settle down to a meal of cash.

Finally, they kiss their cash kids good-night, then enter beds of cash where they hug king sized pillows stuffed with, you guessed it, more cash.

They fall asleep thinking, "I'm winning the rat race!"

Consumer Confidence Cratering

Stick a fork in them they're done. 

In yet another sign that the desire and/or ability to shop is waning, "consumer confidence" has reached the lowest point since record keeping began in the US 56 years ago. It is the same in other consumer nations.

That is a record low, folks. Like everything else, consumerism is falling apart, as it had to eventually. You can't live 2-planet lifestyles forever when you only have one planet.

Consumers are tapped out, and have been for a long time. The only thing that kept the shopping going was gorging on credit (also at record levels), and it should have been known that the whole credit thing wouldn't end well either.

First we were called workers, then citizens, and finally, consumers. 

Now we are being forced into a new category - "survivors". 

It doesn't matter how good the sales are on things we don't need, there isn't enough money left over after essentials are bought. 

Maybe not enough money for essentials either. 

They would pick up pennies... if there still were pennies.

Good bye consumerism. 

Hello to whatever replaces it.

Walden 2.0 perhaps.