"Shall we surrender to our surroundings or shall we make our peace with nature and begin to make reparations for the damage we have done to our air, to our land, and to our water?" - President Nixon
How much do we really need to survive? This summer I found the answer. I was backpacking in the Absaroka Mountain Range in Wyoming, east of Yellowstone National Park. There, in the midst of the legitimate purity of the Earth, I had bumped into the realization of our world's biggest flaw: the need for simplicity.
Simplicity- the freedom from complexity. (dictionary.com)
Today's life is full of plastic cups, plastic eating utensils, paper bags, plastic water bottles, paper towels, paper plates, plastic plates, plastic grocery bags, trillions of individually wrapped cookies; bags of chips; juice boxes; pop cans; candy bars; and the list goes on and on and on and ON. People leave the lights on in the room next to them so they don't feel lonely, the water on in the shower so the temperature can heat up to perfection, and their computer(s) on so they don't have to waste a precious second of their day waiting for it to load. People drive to their neighbors house, to the store across the street, to the park because G-d forbid they use up an ounce of energy or use a minute or two of their day to walk or bike. We want what is most convenient in the moment and what will take less time and energy. I admit to it too; I'll go as far as putting clean clothes in my dirty clothes hamper because I don't feel like folding them up and putting them away! But what does that do?... it wastes gallons of water and causes me to use products (chemicals) that I would not otherwise NEED to use. I'm lazy. We're all lazy. But what we all need to learn is that the moment's pleasure is NOT the ultimate satisfaction; what feels good in the moment is not always what I'll be satisfied with in the long run.
Is the simplicity in the moment worth taking away the simplicity of pure nature and life?
We use land to store the tons of garbage humans waste per minute. But what will happen when there is no more land to store it all? Where will the animals live? How will they live with all the toxic waste and the plastic taking place of their home and their food? We don't need all of the wrappers and plastics we use to eliminate the "pain" of cleaning... do we? Do we need to drive as much as we do? Isn't it nice to sometimes take a beautiful walk outside?... or does the litter and smoke and horrible smell of gasoline disturb us? As humans, we have abused our knowledge and taken our desire for simplicity too far. The Earth... life and nature doesn't remain the way it was made to be. The smell, feeling, sight, and life in the Absarokas was incredibly different than the smell, feeling, sight, and life here. It makes me sad. People need to start thinking: is the elimination of hard work worth the elimination of the Earth as it was made? Does the popular desire for a more simple life take away life's simple pleasures?
How much do we really need to survive? This summer I found the answer. I was backpacking in the Absaroka Mountain Range in Wyoming, east of Yellowstone National Park. There, in the midst of the legitimate purity of the Earth, I had bumped into the realization of our world's biggest flaw: the need for simplicity.
Simplicity- the freedom from complexity. (dictionary.com)
Today's life is full of plastic cups, plastic eating utensils, paper bags, plastic water bottles, paper towels, paper plates, plastic plates, plastic grocery bags, trillions of individually wrapped cookies; bags of chips; juice boxes; pop cans; candy bars; and the list goes on and on and on and ON. People leave the lights on in the room next to them so they don't feel lonely, the water on in the shower so the temperature can heat up to perfection, and their computer(s) on so they don't have to waste a precious second of their day waiting for it to load. People drive to their neighbors house, to the store across the street, to the park because G-d forbid they use up an ounce of energy or use a minute or two of their day to walk or bike. We want what is most convenient in the moment and what will take less time and energy. I admit to it too; I'll go as far as putting clean clothes in my dirty clothes hamper because I don't feel like folding them up and putting them away! But what does that do?... it wastes gallons of water and causes me to use products (chemicals) that I would not otherwise NEED to use. I'm lazy. We're all lazy. But what we all need to learn is that the moment's pleasure is NOT the ultimate satisfaction; what feels good in the moment is not always what I'll be satisfied with in the long run.
Is the simplicity in the moment worth taking away the simplicity of pure nature and life?
We use land to store the tons of garbage humans waste per minute. But what will happen when there is no more land to store it all? Where will the animals live? How will they live with all the toxic waste and the plastic taking place of their home and their food? We don't need all of the wrappers and plastics we use to eliminate the "pain" of cleaning... do we? Do we need to drive as much as we do? Isn't it nice to sometimes take a beautiful walk outside?... or does the litter and smoke and horrible smell of gasoline disturb us? As humans, we have abused our knowledge and taken our desire for simplicity too far. The Earth... life and nature doesn't remain the way it was made to be. The smell, feeling, sight, and life in the Absarokas was incredibly different than the smell, feeling, sight, and life here. It makes me sad. People need to start thinking: is the elimination of hard work worth the elimination of the Earth as it was made? Does the popular desire for a more simple life take away life's simple pleasures?
I like how you used personal experience to connect society's need for simplicity. You definitly get accross the need for a more proactive generation; one that is more aware of the consequences of not having a simplistic lifestyle, and one that wants to change they way live to impact the environment in a more positive way. I also really like the questions you ask and how you have a definite stance on issues. Good job
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