The "Did You Make?" Game: A Journey to Self-Sufficiency

Did you make the yogurt? (Yes)

Years ago, a friend introduced us to a game that has since become a fun and thought-provoking tradition in our household. We call it the "Did You Make" game.
Whenever she came over for a meal, she would ask us if we had made various components of the dish we were serving.
For example, if we were having burritos, she would ask:

• Did you make the wraps? (Yes)
• Did you make the salsa? (Yes)
• Did you make the yogurt? (Yes)
• Did you make the cheese? (No)
• Did you make the Mexi-fries? (Yes)
• Did you make the guacamole? (Yes)
  
  

Although we've since moved away from our curious friend, we continue to play the game between the two of us. 
When we sit down to a meal, we run through what we made and what we didn't. 
When we come across something we didn't make, we decide if it should go on our list of things to make in the future.
Our goal is to always make more and more of what we eat, striving for greater self-sufficiency and appreciation for the food we consume.
More fun, tastier meals, and less unhealthy highly processed killer foods from the Big Food Industrial Complex.

Famous People Across History Who Lived Simply

Rabindranath Tagore and Albert Einstein, another famous advocate of the simple life.

Living simply has always appealed to a wide variety of people, even famous people that could have lived more luxuriously. 

The choice to live simply has always been a viable, attractive option outside the constrictions of conventionality.

The following are a few unconventional famous people across history who preferred simplicity over complexity and convenience:

1. Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

Lived in a small cabin near Walden Pond, embracing minimalism and self-sufficiency.

2. Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

Advocated for simple living, spinning his own clothes and living with few possessions.

3. Saint Francis of Assisi (1181-1226)

Renounced wealth and lived in poverty, focusing on spiritual growth and simplicity.

4. Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910)

Embraced a simple life, giving away his wealth and living as a peasant farmer.

5. Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

Lived a reclusive life, finding joy in nature and simplicity.

6. Diogenes (412-323 BCE)

A Greek philosopher who lived in a clay pot, rejecting luxury and social conventions.

7. Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)

Lived simply, focusing on art, literature, and spiritual growth.

8. Simplicius of Cilicia (c. 420-484 CE)

A Christian ascetic who lived in solitude, devoting himself to prayer and simplicity.

These rebels and renouncers demonstrate that living simply can be a path to greater fulfillment, creativity, and spiritual growth, no matter who, where, or when, you are.

Choosing to live simply - it was good then, continues to be good now, and will be an even better choice for the future.

Singing The Praises of The Bicycle

“The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart.”

- Iris Murdoch

Could there be any greater merging of two more lovely things than bicycles and music?

In 1975, as a teen, I listened to the Scottish band Nazareth. One of my favourite songs of theirs was My White Bicycle. 

It was a song of freedom and rebellion, two things I was (and still am) very much into.

"My white bicycle, my white bicycle.

Riding all around the street 

Four o'clock and they're all asleep.

I'm not tired and it's so late 

Moving fast everything looks great." 

This song, originally recorded by the UK band Tomorrow in 1967, was inspired by the Dutch underground White Bicycle Project in 1964. 

They collected several hundred bikes, painted them white then left them around Amsterdam.

 

The white bikes could be used by anyone who needed a ride. 

Or just to feel free and rebellious.  

The bicycle as we know it today came about in 1885, and the first song that mentions bicycles that I could find was written in 1892. That would be Bicycle Built For Two, by British songwriter Harry Dacre.

There are many, many songs that celebrate bicycles. 

I do believe that is because the bicycle is a thing of simplicity, efficiency, and beauty. 

It may be the premier invention of all time.

Next to music, of course.

What a combo.

''The rain comes down but I don't care. 

The wind is blowing in my hair. 

Seagulls flying in the air.

My white bicycle.''

Brave New 1984

"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever."

- George Orwell

"Did anyone actually read 1984 by George Orwell or Brave New World by Aldous Huxley? 
These classic dystopian novels warned us about the dangers of totalitarianism and the loss of individual freedom. 
Instead of heeding these warnings, the rich and powerful used them as "how-to" manuals to control and manipulate the masses.
Unfortunately, these books describe our current reality all too well. 

Massive changes are needed, and most of us can see that. 
But who will lead these changes? The same people who got us into this mess promise to fix it, and if we don't do anything, their plan will be imposed upon us without our consent.
It's time for us to take charge. We need to make decisions for ourselves, not rely on politicians who only serve their own interests and big business. 

They've lost our trust, and it's up to us to save ourselves and our communities.
Practice some quiet quitting by quietly and calmly rejecting consumerism and taking back your life. 

That's a great place to start, and one that will get us on the spot we need to be to continue our fight to free ourselves.

"Only the vigilant can maintain their liberties, and only those who are constantly and intelligently on the spot can hope to govern themselves effectively by democratic procedures. 

A society, most of whose members spend a great part of their time, not on the spot, not here and now and in their calculable future, but somewhere else, in the irrelevant other worlds of sport and soap opera, of mythology and metaphysical fantasy, will find it hard to resist the encroachments of those would manipulate and control it.” 

- Aldous Huxley

Nature is Pure

Wind stirs;

Waterfall sends cold sounds

Moonrise over the foothills

Shines its light on my bamboo window.

Dearer with age,

These mountains ways.

If I die at the foot of this cliff,

Even my bones will be pure.

Jakushitsu (1290–1367)

The struggle of civilization vs nature has been a common theme in literature from The Epic of Gilgamesh to Lord of The Flies.

After a lifetime of reading, I still don't know if humanity is essentially good or evil. 

But I do think that nature is pure. 

Since we are part of nature, we could also be pure, if we tried.

But have we, as a species, ever really tried?

Whenever the stench of civilization gets to be too much, I go to nature.

Lately, I have been going a lot.

Like the American nature writer John Burroughs, "I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order."

My forays into the wild always make me feel better. 

It works. 

Safe and effective.

True story.

Maybe some day, with enough exposure to nature, even my bones will be pure.

Renounce, Reject, Relinquish

Move over reduce, reuse, recycle. You are so, like, 1970s. 

Make room for renounce, reject, and relinquish - the new Three Rs.

What are we turning away from, abandoning, or giving up? 

Worldliness, which is an early word that can be used to describe the capitalist consumer scam.

Worldliness is common today, dominant in the west, but has not been recommended by any world religion for thousands of years.

All religions warn of the dangers of indulging in "worldly things".

A person can say no to worldly life for many good reasons. Spirituality is only one, albeit, a good one.

Nothing represents the worldly life more than consumerism gone wild. In this mode of living, a person goes all in on hard core materialism to the detriment of everything else.

Swami Vivekananda has pointed out that renunciation is absolutely crucial when choosing non-material pursuits.

He says,

"Renounce the lower so that you may get the higher. Renounce! Renounce! Sacrifice! Give up! Not for zero. Not for nothing. But to get the higher."

Consumerism is the lower. It must be left behind in order for one to experience that which is higher. 

Many sages across the ages have told us that one cannot be free as long as covetousness exists. 

All advertising is brainwashing to specifically get us to covet things, work hard to get money, then spend it buying all those coveted things that promise happiness, but only perpetuate misery.

When we say no to all that, we reap the benefits that come with that courageous act.

When one lives a simple life, being able to say no is a necessary skill, and one that I have finely honed.

I frequently need to say, "NO".

That is because I long ago renounced it all. I reject it in its entirety. 

I relinquish The Machine's hold on me. I let it all go in favour of a simple and free life of less.

These are my new favourite R-words.

Renounce. Reject. Relinquish.

Practice with me.

"No. No. No."

"No, thank you."

"No."

Repeat as required.