Done are the days.

If you are in the business of selling a gizmo or a gadget that doesn't serve a purpose, that doesn't add value then be leery. The future will be a challenge.

Done are the days where we work and work to buy stuff we don't need. Stuff to store and then toss aside when we're bored with it.

Done are the days of buying hundreds of plastic toys representing the corporate companies profiting from them.

We have made so much excess our trash dumps are filled with so much discarded items we once needed so desperately.

We don't need to toil away shuffling paperwork and looking at computers trying to analyze data that doesn't make any sense. Our systems are bloated, ineffective and wasteful.

One size fits all systems, like the food pyramid, education system, business strategy, everything is mired in a one size fits all -- do it this way and you have the desired outcome. As society got larger and means of disseminating information became easier, institutional systems focused on normalizing everything in life. Give the people the answers they seek. Tell them how to stay healthy and raise the kids and what an education looks like, and what will set someone up for success.

The appointed expert said to eat 3 meals a day, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, fat is bad, etc etc. Then enter unnatural substitutes laced in processed sugar. Advertising agencies said we need this type of appliance, this car, this dress to be accepted and successful. Education experts said kids should all be expected to sit behind a desk all day and memorize reading, writing, arithmetic.

We ALL are so aware of these man made systems that these are satirized in our entertainment over and over again. This wasn’t malicious, we the people were trying to help. We the people were trying to make a name for ourselves. We the people came up with solutions and marketed that one solution as gospel so to speak.

But while there are commonalities and majorities, our differences are not meant to be drowned out. We are all practically the same in our biology, but it's that small percentage that needs to rise up and create our unique spark.

It is rising. Let’s pause, listen and reflect and let it rise.

We have externalized all our senses and emotions. We value our ability to think and solve problems rationally using facts. This in and of itself isn't bad. But after decades of focusing on these systems and paths to a good life, we lost something. We lost our connection to our interconnectedness. We don’t hear the signals the body tells us until it's too late. We are frustrated because we did everything (mostly) that we were told to do but yet still… we suffer. And these external tools might alleviate for a short while but they don’t fix what ails us.

We exist in the pendulum swings of over correcting.
Too much stuff morphs into the minimalist lifestyle.
Over-reliance on institutions morphs into off grid.
Rigorous academics morphs into homeschooling.
Organized religion and overzealous evangelists morph into new age speakers explaining their path to enlightenment. We are still paying, it's just not called tithing but capitalism with all the money spent on self-help books, classes, workshops, retreats.

The goal is not to resort back to the dark ages. I’m not trying to romanticize the good ole days. We’ve evolved from there. And let's face it, many of our modern technologies are why we are evolved to even think about this. Our planet is more accessible and we can learn anything and communicate with anyone anywhere. These are good things. Being able to type on this electronic device whether daylight or dark is a good thing. The advances in medicine and the advancing exploration of quantum and how our DNA works is exactly why I can envision designing a different lifestyle. Because of the internet and all the information and examples shared, I’m afforded to explore my desire for something beyond the hustle and grind, live to work mentality we’ve idolized for well the bulk of my life.

In all these swings there lies a balance. Balance is tolerance. Balance is accepting
There is truth in all these presentations. The truth in both the reactive and the repressive ways we over correct and over process to find what? We don't even know what we are looking for.

As I've wrestled with finding myself over the years, right now the thing that started me on this journey is the mantra. Do less. Strip things back, do less. The important stuff rises up or actually becomes more clear as the unimportant falls away. You'll start to notice the man made rules, deadlines, milestones are not what is important. We need structure, like the rules of the road, so we don't crash into each other, but think about it. mon-fri 9-5 --- man made.

We've evolved past that now. Let's dare to imagine what's next. Let’s turn inward and listen. Listen to our inner knowing and get to know ourselves and what we want our lives to look like.

We need some stillness in our lives. We need connection and community.

We need food, shelter, safety and sex.

Instead of growing the bottom line, let's grow food and flowers

Instead of building portfolios, let's build sustainable community

Instead of inventing pills to help our symptoms, let's heal our hearts and souls.

Let's heal the earth in the process. Honor the ground, the animals and the water. These things sustain us.

Let's pick and choose the technology we keep in our lives. The content we consume. The ways to travel.

Let's live.