Good People Everywhere

"There sure are good people commenting on NBA".

So says Linda, my partner in simple living, and contributor/editor of this blog. Not only has she actively participated in creating the NBA blog, she has also been a co-architect of our NBA lifestyle. She also reads every comment that is posted here, and she likes what she sees.

After Linda pointed out the awesome crowd that has been drawn to our little effort on the Internet, I decided to take a closer look at where all the good people come from.

Seeing as we are residing in a part of what is known as North America, it makes sense that most of our visitors are from this geographical area. And since the USA is so much larger than Canada or Mexico, I am not surprised that so many NBA visitors are from there.

I find it ironic that the country that perfected consumerism logs the most visits on our non-consumer oriented blog. Perhaps together we will perfect ecologically appropriate post-consumer lifestyles.

Happily, support for this blog and low waste/low consumption lifestyles is widespread. NBA has welcomed visitors from almost every country in the world. Many of the countries that have not visited have lifestyles that make our low consumption look high-consumption in comparison.

May they see, if they do visit here, a precautionary warning against joining the consumer frenzy in the first place. They could teach us a thing or two about getting by on a minimal amount of resources.

Two-thirds of our visits come from the top 10 countries, the rest divided between all the others.

Top 10 Countries With Most Visitors to NBA

1. United States
2. Canada
3. United Kingdom
4. Australia
5. India
6. Netherlands
7. Germany
8. France
9. Philippines
10. New Zealand

In this crazy world we may sometimes wonder where all the good people have gone. They are where they have always been  - everywhere, including here on NBA.

So here is to the good people that have visited here and supported our blogging and lifestyle efforts through repeated visits and the sharing of such good ideas and feedback in comments. Here is to good people everywhere that are reducing their consumption and increasing their enjoyment of life. Thank you.

About The Book Cover Above

(From: Goodreads)

Good People Everywhere

by Lynea Gillen, Kristina Swarner (Illustrations)

Winner of Mom's Choice Award, Teacher's Choice and Moonbeam Children's Book Awards

A colorful picture book that will warm the hearts of children and adults alike, each of its pages contain endearing examples and vibrant illustrations to inspire children to grow into grateful, caring, and giving people. It provides a wonderful way to calm children before sleep, ease their fears, and help them develop an appreciation for good work. Also included are activity pages to help children practice skills for creating gratitude, compassion, and beauty in daily life.

Hardcover, 32 pages

Published August 1st 2012 by Three Pebble Press, LLC

ISBN 0979928982 (ISBN13: 9780979928987)

Stuff We Don't Need

Many, if not most, people with money tend to spend it on things they don't need. A lot of folks are addicted to financial wealth and the stuff that can be bought with excess cash. This is not the right track, as shown by record levels of depression and environmental collapse.

We are desperately trying to fulfill ourselves with things instead of what we really need, which is love, emotional contact, and creative self-expression.

The more balanced we become, the more we seek these things rather than being driven to accumulate money and things we don't need. Our natural energy begins to flow, and our lives fall into simplicity and balance.

With balance we can have everything our hearts could desire in abundance, but there is not accumulation of excess. We are not wasting, and we are not using resources that don't need to be used.

With balance we give up the struggle for more. We have everything we need because true wealth is simple and balanced.

Resistance Is Not Futile

For many of us, the urge to be free is greater than the desire to have more. We resist the orders to "CONSUME" coming from the consumerist cabal in order to live life on our own terms. There are no harnesses or fetters in a life of simplicity, frugality and thrift.

When it comes to resisting the chaffing, restricting harness of consumer capitalism, any response is valid and useful. Active resistance, passive resistance - it doesn't matter. Both are effective means to throw off the constrictions and run free once again.

We are saying NO to the profiteers trying to shackle the planet and everyone on it for their own selfish purposes. We can make their billions in advertising attractive chains ineffective. Sadly for them, they just can't force us to adopt their selfish, greedy line of thinking.

The beautiful, freedom loving cat in the video shows us that resistance is not futile. Watch and learn. And laugh. Then run away really fast and enjoy your life the way you want to live.

Still Not Happy

After decades of promises about how capitalism and consumerism will make us all gloriously happy, we still aren't. Now at the end of consumerism we need more and more just to feel normal. But they tell us we just haven't bought enough yet.

What about the billions of people that do not live consumer lifestyles? Is it not possible for them to be happy?

What about the majority of history in which humans survived with few material possessions? The way this 50 year old scam has been presented to us no one has been blissfully happy until the advent of the shopping mall.

It was a lie from the beginning. It is quite possible to be happy with less. In some cases, much less.

Consumerism is a total failure. Continued participation is an exercise in futility.

Still not happy? Simplify now and avoid the rush.

Be A Producer, Not A Consumer

Good bye lawn.

So much to consume, so little time... and money. Why not concentrate on being a producer instead, like we all used to be at one time.

These days everything a person could want (that money can buy at least) has been prepackaged for our convenience. Music, games, experiences, gadgets, furniture, entertainment and food are all made for you by someone else.

Unfortunately, most of it is crap made by giant companies that don't care about you, your health or your experience. When we buy into this system it robs us of our own abilities to be creators and produce the things we need and want ourselves.

But we can take back our self-reliance and enrich the world, ourselves and our communities in the process. Do It Yourself (DIY) is the way to go. We can do it.

Hello garden - beautiful and foodiful.

I thought of this yesterday when I saw some neighbourhood kids enjoying sliding down a hill on makeshift sleds made out of cardboard. Not a corporate plastic sled in sight, and still lots of fun and laughter.

If you aren't into sledding, or are unfortunate enough to not have heaps of snow at the end of March like we do, there are other good ways to cut out the middlemen and become a producer.

Gardening is great opportunity to shift from consuming to producing. I love the Food Not Lawns movement for this reason. Most lawns are hooked on drugs, and even if they aren't, you can't eat grass.

Why not become a producer and create something beautiful and edible instead?

See more of this Food Not Lawns garden here.

Shopping For Self Esteem

"Spend money on stuff and we guarantee you will think at least twice as highly of yourself."

Are people with low self-esteem more materialistic? That is what researchers have found, and they conclude that it is the same for both children and adults. Feeling bad about yourself? Go shopping and acquire as much crap as you can.

Study results show that individuals with low self-esteem desire more consumer goods, and indulge in impulsive and compulsive shopping more often.

While shopping can give a short lived self-esteem boost, it is too often replaced with feelings of anxiety, stress, depression, and even lower self-esteem. It is a vicious cycle that marketers take full advantage of while spending billions to convince us we need even more stuff.

For all the ages a pre-occupation with material goods has been looked down upon as leading us away from our true purpose.

And for a good reason. We can not be healthy while constantly wanting more. We can not be happy while feeling out of control.

There are things that we can use to protect ourselves and the planet against the many forces of materialism and market manipulation.

1. Practice Self-discipline

- do not create excuses for shopping, take control of what and when you buy things
- remember times that you have successfully overcome urges to purchase things you don't need
- give yourself a pat on the back for refusing to be a consumer drone
- learn to enjoy not shopping more than shopping

2. Recognize the Scam

- hundreds of billions of dollars are spent every year to find ways to make us buy more
- we are trained to be consumers from an early age by parents, friends and abusive marketers alike
- consumerism may be good for sellers, investors and the economy, but at the same time is detrimental to shoppers, not to mention the planet
- no one likes an unfair contest, or being duped, but these are the modes of operation for people who want you to buy things you don't need

3. Recognize the challenge

- advertisers, marketers, and sellers of superfluous crap are not your friends and are not concerned about making you a healthier, happier human
- salespeople are out to get your money: think twice, or more, about giving it to them
- any one that tells you to buy things you don't want or think are necessary are not doing you any favours

Consumerism and shopping are self-esteem dead ends. They are stories with bad endings, but they can be changed.

What really feels good is having the discipline to say no.

“Self respect is the fruit of discipline: the sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself.”  

- Abraham Heschel

Choice

As awful as our consumer-supported system seems to be these days, at least we still have somewhat of a choice whether we want to participate or not.

We can still choose whether or not we will be conspicuous consumers. We can still choose whether or not we will support, through our spending dollars, current destructive and harmful ways.

I thought of this while reading The Automatic Earth this week. Over there this line of text got me to thinking:

"Central banks can do all kinds of stuff, but they can’t make us spend our money on things we don’t want or need. Let alone make us borrow to do so." 

No, they sure can't. They can't make us work for them, either. They also can't make us work to the degree that we have to pay taxes to support their global domination plans. While I pay taxes in many other ways, I have not made enough money for a decade to have to pay income tax.

I think about that as Canadians' money is being spent to gut environmental legislation, promote fossil fuels and send killing machines to far flung "trouble spots" on the globe.

If you think that you are powerless, just consider the massive portion of the North American economy that is dependent on you and your choices. Consumer spending accounts for a whopping 70% of U.S. economic activity. In Canada that number is roughly the same.

"While harder to document, consumer behaviour is also revealed by decisions not to spend. For example, if enough people are involved, boycotting a company or a product (or even the threat of it) can be an effective way for consumers to make their opinions felt. Boycotting has brought about a number of changes in companies' social and business behaviour... In fact, any consumer decision to stop buying a product can ultimately and substantially influence corporate strategies."

We have choice.

Surrender

Dear Consumerism,

Please be notified that I am officially waving the white flag of surrender.

It is unhealthy to fight what is because what is, just is - you can't do anything about what has already happened. Therefore, practicing the saintly art of surrender becomes the rational thing to do.

In my surrender I am cultivating a life of calm, and this is what results from accepting that you exist in the world.

Do not confuse this declaration with "giving up" or "quitting" or even "going away". I will continue to chip away at your destruction, violence, and lies, just not in an angry, adversarial relationship.

I can only despair if I think that I know where your planet-harming excess is taking us. I do not. No one knows, even if there are some strong indications of where we might end up.

As writer Alain de Botton suggests we all do, I am surrendering to the future with hope. In this place of peace we can talk about what to do with you and your "profit over people and the environment" ways.

In closing, I look forward to working with you to help us build better ways of acquiring and allocating our resources in ways that preserve the planet - for future generations of my family, your family, and all families.

Thank you, Consumerism, for taking time out from making money to accept my official surrender and withdrawal from your war on everything. Here's to better days moving forward.

Warning: Consumerism Is Killing The Planet

Consumer products, services, and packaged experiences should come with warning labels like those found on other harmful things like cigarettes and poisons.


Darn near everything bought and sold in so-called advanced societies could come with a label warning purchasers of the dangers inherent in mindless consumption.


WARNING: WILL CAUSE ONE TO WORK, SPEND AND BORROW TO DEATH.


WARNING: THIS CAUSES CLIMATE CHANGE.


WARNING: PURCHASING THIS CONTRIBUTES TO HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES.


WARNING: SPENDING MONEY ON THIS IS LIKELY TO CAUSE DEBT, GUILT,
AND REMORSE.


WARNING: BUYING THESE CLOTHES WILL ONLY MAKE YOU LOOK SMARTER.


WARNING: ONLY PROVIDES TEMPORARY THRILLS - WILL NOT CAUSE LASTING HAPPINESS.


WARNING: SHOPPING CAN BE HIGHLY ADDICTIVE.



WARNING - CONSUMERISM IS KILLING THE PLANET.



WARNING: ONLY LIVING SIMPLY CAN HEAL MOTHER EARTH.

Hey, these would make good bumper stickers. Except bicycles don't have bumpers.


The dangers of consumerism are many, and avoiding them can be complicated. It is easier to escape the bother entirely and just not buy anything.

Warning - not buying anything can lead to contentment and happiness.

There's a warning label for you.

You Don't Need It

Feeling motivated to go shopping? Chances are you don't need to go anywhere. Maybe just stay home and play a game with the kids. Or teach them the most effective words to protect them from the futility of a life trapped in the work/spend/debt cycle.

"You don't need it." These four simple words have the power to change the way you see the world and your life. Since we have become infected with the values of consumerism like greed, selfishness, and the accumulation of material goods, the words, "you don't need it" can be liberating.

So what does one really need?

Strictly speaking a person could get by with food, clothing (if the climate requires clothes at all), shelter, clean air and water. While these would ensure survival they may not allow one to make progress in life in order to experience their full potential.

Someone may have the ability to become a great thinker or builder or artist, but if they are caught in a struggle to meet their basic physiological needs, they may never have the opportunity to develop their gifts.

Psychologist Abraham Maslow said as much when he created his pyramid of human needs while thinking about what motivates human behaviour. At the base of his pyramid you will find the basic survival needs. But they are only the base from which we continue to work upwards when these conditions are met.

This is what you really need according to
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

According to Maslow and other thinkers, we have a natural drive, or motivation, to progress all the way up the levels to Self-Actualization. As we self-actualize we become everything that we can possibly be, bringing the best we have to offer to the current situation in the present moment.

Some pyramids add a level above Self-Actualization called Transcendence in which one helps others to self-actualize and achieve their full potential.

Consumerism takes advantage of our natural drives, misdirects us, and presents distractions and roadblocks on our way toward furthering our personal development and enjoyment of life. When we see how we are being blocked we can say to ourselves, "You don't need it".

Instead, we can focus on what we actually need - basic survival requirements, safety, love, and feeling good about ourselves. This is what we need to achieve our potential, then help others do the same.

Maslow found that self-actualizers share certain characteristics. Whether famous or not, educated or not, rich or poor, self-actualizers roughly fit the following profile.

Characteristics of Self-Actualized People

• Self-Acceptance and Democratic World View

Self-actualized people tend to accept themselves and others as they are. They tend to lack inhibition and are able to enjoy themselves and their lives free of guilt.

• Realistic

Rather than being fearful of things that are different or unknown, the self-actualized individual is able to view things logically and rationally.

• Problem-Centered

Self-actualized individuals enjoy applying their problem-solving skills to real-world situations and like helping other people improve their own lives.

• Peak Experiences

According to Maslow, peak experiences are, "Feelings of limitless horizons opening up to the vision, the feeling of being simultaneously more powerful and also more helpless than one ever was before, the feeling of ecstasy and wonder and awe, the loss of placement in time and space with, finally, the conviction that something extremely important and valuable had happened, so that the subject was to some extent transformed and strengthened even in his daily life by such experiences."

• Autonomy

Does not conform to other people's ideas of happiness or contentment. This original perspective allows the individual to live in the moment and appreciate the beauty of each experience.

• Solitude and Privacy

Self-actualized people value their privacy and enjoy solitude. While they also love the company of others, taking time to themselves is essential for personal discovery and cultivating potential.

• Philosophical Sense of Humour

The actualized generally have a thoughtful sense of humour. They are able to enjoy the humour in situations and laugh at themselves, but they do not ridicule or make fun at the expense of another person's feelings.

• Spontaneity

There is a tendency to be open, unconventional and spontaneous. While these people are able to follow generally accepted social expectations, they do not feel confined by these norms in their thoughts or behaviours.

• Enjoy the Journey

Self-actualized people have concrete goals, but they do not see things as simply a means to an end. The journey toward achieving a goal is just as important and enjoyable as actually accomplishing the goal.

Now, there is a shopping list I can get behind! To me it looks a lot like a simple living checklist as simple living allows the time and head space for such pursuits.

Contrary to popular belief, this shopping list can be largely filled with little to no money. You can't buy friends and love, and most of the other things above the basic survival needs. You can't buy your way to the top of personal development.

Our system believes that we are motivated by engaging in our role as consumers, but I believe that is wrong. Maslow and many, many others throughout history, have pointed out that when it comes to becoming everything we can be, you don't need much more than the motivation and intention to do good and be free.

Our true motivation lies in becoming the best individuals that we can possibly be in this moment in time given the gifts and talents that we possess right now.

Ideas For One Planet Living

Everyone and everything pay dearly for the five planet lifestyles of a few.

I am looking forward to the day that we are honest enough with ourselves to admit that conspicuous consumption, like the cigarette industry, is far worse than initially advertised. In both cases advertising sold them as "good for you". But now we know that both are resulting in the harm and death of millions, including innocent bystanders.

All the resources that are required to support consumer-oriented cultures have to come from somewhere. Most often they are stolen from people living where the resources are with devastating effects on the human and environmental landscape.

My country is one of the worst offenders, both in our high consumption habits, and in our resource extraction industries at home and abroad. 75% of the world’s exploration and mining companies have their headquarters in Canada.

Canadian mining companies, including some of the biggest in the world, frequently extract products against the wishes of local (often indigenous) people. About seventy five Canadian mining companies are active in Peru alone, in exploration for gold, silver, uranium, and copper. Some of these are charged with committing major human rights violations, poisoning watersheds, and destroying the way of life of people who are already experiencing poverty.

In response, more than 200 communities and civil society organizations in Peru are demanding an end to destructive mining practices and for water to be recognized as a human right.

That is why our Prime Minister visited Peru recently, the first PM to do so. Unfortunately he was representing the mining companies, and while there announced the tying of all future aid money to the South American nation to be dependent on further mining development by Canadian companies.

It would have been understandable if the PM were visiting to talk about the 15 civilians who have been killed during protests with Peruvian police forces in the past two years, the majority in conflicts related to oil, mining and gas projects lead by Canadian firms.

The people, and their environment, pay dearly for the conspicuous consumption taking place a world away.

All along the chain that extracts, then transforms raw materials into what is required to live five planet lifestyles, a similar violence is wreaked upon both humans and non-humans everywhere.

It is convenient that the consumers are often far away in both physical and mental space. But it is getting increasingly difficult to maintain the fantasy that everything is fine. Just like the cigarette industry has been exposed for their wrongdoing, it is getting harder to justify the ignorance and denial surrounding unsustainable, violence-based, high consumption lifestyles.

Now we know that the chocolate bar at the check out may contain ingredients obtained through the use of child slaves in Africa. It doesn't taste as good knowing the violence that is being perpetrated to bring the product to our taste buds. The right thing to do is stop buying slave chocolate.

When we reduce our consumption we reduce the costs of our choices, and the violence done on our behalf.

Ideas For One Planet Living

There are many things that can be done that have positive effects on your life, the lives of people everywhere, and the natural world.

• Be mindful of what you consume. Shoot for a one planet lifestyle.
• Avoid advertising like the plague - it will infect you with a lust for stuff and going anywhere but here. Steer clear of glossy magazines, TV, catalogs, internet content buried in ads, and commercial radio.
• Buy less, do less. Focus on personal development - it's free, and freeing.
• Eat low on the food chain. A plant based diet is the healthiest and has the least impact.
• Reduce air travel. Flying increases your eco-footprint dramatically.
• Eliminate processed food, fast food, and GMOs. Eat real food.
• Buy local. When you buy local you support your local farmers and businesses. Money stays in the community.
• Use alternatives to buying new stuff: Craigslist, Freecycle.org, swap with neighbours, give stuff away, borrow, share, or live without.
• Buy Fair Trade/Organic: products that put people and the environment before profits.
• Support cooperatives: housing, food, work, banking, other products and services.
• Practice the most important "Rs" - Refuse, Reduce, Reuse.
• Ride a bike, walk, and use public transportation. These are the most efficient forms of getting around.
• Live simply. Most people on the planet live simply... and they're still happy!  It feels good to join them.

Alternatives To Work

Are there any alternatives to work? Even if there are, people are so busy working that they may never have the time to find them.

Most of us are so immersed in work that we can not imagine a world outside of the current model. As conventional thinking goes, there are no alternatives to work as we know it. "Get a hair cut, and get a job" is understood as not only the right thing to do, but the only thing to do.

Only by rationally questioning our social assumptions and priorities surrounding the concept of work, and by actually facing the resultant problems, can we then begin to shift toward healthier ways of living.

Is full employment desirable? Who benefits from our working longer hours for less pay? Is work 'liberating'? 'Good for us'? Are people who don't have a job lazy, unproductive losers?

These are the types of questions that we need to discuss before we can get an objective, scientific view of what we are doing from 9 to 5, fifty weeks out of the year. More and more people are asking these questions.

People are getting wise to the scam of wage slavery and they are doing something about it.

A growing number of freedom-loving people are finding alternatives to conventional notions of work. 28 % of US citizens are 'down-shifting' in order to realign their lives with their yearning for more freedom. They are 'tuning out' the dominant culture of work overload, and reject the costly consumer oriented value system.

Down-shifters, and other adherents of simple living, are choosing more free time and less work. Some are moving to quieter, less expensive, rural towns where life is slower and communities are still intact. People are seeking their own (not advertisers' or employers') definitions of quality-of-life, including how a job may or may not fit into their overall picture.

We are brainwashed to believe that if we are not 'doing something' every minute of every day then we are wasting our lives. Quite the opposite is in fact true, chasing 'things', 'thoughts' and 'sensations' simply allows our lives to pass by unnoticed.

More people are opting out of mainstream notions of 'work' and 'success', and are exploring simple living alternatives that allow the freedom to pursue priorities other than the purely economic.

Priorities encompassing all of life such as love, cooperation, creativity, mutual support, play, curiosity, compassion, and truth. How could working a regular monotonous job just for money even compare?

Like Peter Gibbons said in the movie Office Space, "We don't have a lot of time on this earth! We weren't meant to spend it this way. Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day, filling out useless forms and listening to eight different bosses drone on about about mission statements."

Today, many millennials are not buying into the system in the first place. They are not buying many of the traditional big ticket items such as houses and new cars. Such things can be as much of a burden as a blessing.

The sharing economy allows people to free themselves from having to personally own everything they use. Whereas previous consumer generations took pride in owning as much as possible, millennials don't see this as some sort of badge of honour. I agree with them.

If you enjoy the work world, and are lucky enough to have a job in which you don't feel exploited, abused, demeaned, or otherwise maligned, more power to you. However, if you are one of a legion of workers that is under stress on the job and would like to get free, there are alternatives.

Note that none of them are likely to be easy. But then, neither is dragging yourself out of bed day after day after day to go to a job you hate, only to get paid a wage under the poverty line.

Ultimately it would be good if everyone could do what makes them happy, and receive their fair share of the planet's resources for doing it. But until capitalism and greed crumble completely from their inherent non-sustainability, some transitional alternatives are possible.

Among those include things such as:

- downshifting, (spend less so you can work less)
- participating in your community to create local self-sufficiency and resiliency
- gardening
- squatting
- dumpster diving
- traditional hunting/gathering
- joining, or starting, a cooperative
- creating a strong support network in your neighbourhood
- living in a van or RV
- being your own boss doing something you love
- developing strong ties with family and friends
- use barter networks, tool sharing, and 'free' sections of websites like Craigslist

I don't know of any alternatives that don't require a sacrifice of energy, but most of the ones I listed will provide a certain amount of freedom from being preyed upon by the mandatory work system and those that benefit from it.

Participants Wanted For Voluntary Simplicity Study

The Simplicity Institute is my kind of organization. I came across them during some on line research, and discovered that they are currently conducting a study on people who choose to live simply in affluent nations. I was happy to give them a few minutes of my time to participate in their research by filling out the on line survey.

The Simplicity Institute was founded by Samuel Alexander and Dr. Simon Ussher. Mr. Alexander is dedicated to advancing the voluntary simplicity movement, and Dr. Ussher, a medical specialist, is an advocate of the holistic benefits of simple living.

Their Mission Statement is powerful and direct:

"The multi-faceted problem of over-consumption lies at the heart of many of the social, economic, and ecological crises which are currently afflicting advanced capitalist societies and beyond.  At the same time, great multitudes around the globe live lives oppressed by material deprivation (i.e. under-consumption)."

"Our defining objective is to map the road to a world of sustainable consumption – a world in which the entire community of life has an opportunity to flourish safely within Earth’s biophysical limits."

Why study individuals voluntarily adopting low-consumption lifestyles in high-consumption countries? Because, the institute says, "it is our governing hypothesis that post-consumerist lifestyles will be a necessary part of any transition to a sustainable, just, and flourishing human society."

That is what this little blog has been talking about for the past couple of years. Those of us in high consumption parts of the world learn to live with less, so that those who don't have enough can attain more. And then there is the matter of the continued functioning of the planet as we know it before it is damaged beyond repair.

Here is a chance for those choosing simplicity to add to research and policy development. As more of us choose small footprint, sustainable alternatives we create a more enjoyable, balanced, and sustainable way of life that benefits us all.

If you are someone who is voluntarily living a lifestyle of reduced hours of work, income, and consumption, consider filling out the Simplicity Institute's short survey, and helping create change.