Do you ever look around your home and realize how much you have in comparison with so much of the world? Even if you have a studio apartment...it's yours and it has hot and cold running water, and you can close the door and be comfortable inside.
Or, you might have an amazing five bedroom, four bathroom house on sprawling acres with a terrific deck overlooking tons of tree, a pool and a natural river.
Let's face it, no matter how much some of us might complain, we have what we NEED.
I think of people in Africa who've literally never felt a hot shower on their backs, or never run clothes through a washing machine and dryer, or never had food at their fingertips, or clean water, or warmth when it's very cold.
I think it's important we think of these things and remember how truly blessed we are.
I remember being on a klong in Bangkok (a canal), where people's backyards run down to the water we were passing over. The good Thais had little Buddhist shrines in their backyards, they were very poor, and some were eating at their backyard tables with a view of the river. I couldn't take pictures of them, though some do, I felt it was like taking pictures of animals at the zoo and these were human beings smiling shyly and waving at me and the other 3 in our small boat. I thought of how they're sooo poor and living on the edge of a lovely waterway. And I thought "Who's really poor? They're happy, they're not poor!"
Do you ever get in bed with the TV right there in front of you, the clicker in your hand, maybe a pet at your feet, a glass of clean water on your nightstand, instant light from the lamp, maybe a bite to eat, lovely warm covers........and think "this is bliss."
It IS bliss. I'm not preaching here, I'm just wondering how many of us really appreciate what we've got.
What would you miss the most if you were living in India or Kenya where the people have so little?
This IS sounding like a sermon, so I'll quit, but I wanted to post it because I think it's so important.
What WOULD you miss the most? DO you think of how much you have even if it's a small studio apartment?
silly post.........just had to post it.
z
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40 comments:
We live better than kings of old.
But I would miss internet connectivity.
Or my cell phone.
Or climate control.
Or my car.
Or my health care.
Or my armory.
I'm a not quite hardcore prepper......so I have far more than I need now.......but nowhere near enough for when the zombie apocalypse occurs.
I'm in the process now of trying to become a minimalist. I'm going to try living in a camper at campsites here in Indiana and Florida in the winter. I have a very austere fishing shed at my lake lot at Nashville IN. As off the grid as this is I can and need my internet conn. My girlfriend lived in Africa for 18 months when she was in the Peace Corp. I can't imagine living with so little. At one time the area she lived in was modern with houses that had plumbing and electricity. Then there was an uprising and the people that made all that possible were either killed or ran off. The program she was involved in was vaccination of children. This required keeping a camper type refrigerator to keep the meds cold. They couldn't keep people from stealing the fridge and there were people getting murdered. After a year and a half the program was deemed a lost cause. I can't imagine having so little and the struggle to keep what little you do have.
The 'poor' in the US have on average 1.5 cars per household. The poor on average in the US have running water, air conditioning, heat and big screen TV's.
In addition, the 'poor' in the US have a political party that fully supports these 'poor' by facilitating the confiscation of resources from those who earn it and then turning it over to the 'poor' via a myriad of government entitlement and transfer programs so that the 'poor' can get another big screen for their kitchen, and perhaps another big screen TV for their bedroom.
Maybe these truly poor people in Bangkok should really sign up with their local Democrat party, things might go better for them, you think, Z?
This post reminded me of a conservation I had just a few days ago with my 9 year old Grandson. He is working on a badge in Cub Scouts and needed to know what life was like back when I was 9. I don't know if he believed a single word I said after "well, let me think."
What, no computers, 10 cents a week for allowance, LOTS of chores a 4-party telephone, a bottle of soda for 5 cents, no cell phones, no colored television, only 2 stations on the black and white one, 3 brothers in just ONE bedroom, CLOTHES for Christmas presents?????, other clothes were hand-me-downs. Come on Grandpa, I need this for my badge. Stop kidding around, it has to be true.
We were on speaker phone and even my 42 year old son couldn't verify all of it. I think he had a hard time with the black and white TV and the 10 cent allowance thing.
In the past, I wondered aloud how Americans might respond to the loss of our electric grid. I have thought about this and decided that it would be relatively easy to do, from a foreign country, or through the hands of domestic terrorists ... and then I was surprised to hear this concern about the electric grid appear as an item on the evening news two days ago. As I said, I’ve been talking about it for a few years...
A few years ago, a hurricane went through Central Florida and disrupted almost every utility. There was no fresh water. No electricity. State officials began trucking in massive amounts of ice in the middle of August. People lined up for hours to get a bag ... fights broke out. It didn’t speak very well for “an ordered society.”
The news report underscored the fact that if the US lost its electric grid, it wouldn’t be down for days, it would be down for months ... maybe even, up to a year. So I wonder how most Americans would survive without electricity for up to a year. No access to gasoline. No access to the bank accounts. No ability to purchase food at the local store ... no water, no fushing. How long would it take for anarchy to break out?
Mustang - I've done quite a bit of reading into this, and to be honest, when I use the phrase 'zombie apocalypse, it's a euphemism for any social or natural calamity......and the one I fear most is a Coronal Mass Ejection [CME], or an Electro-magnetic Pulse [EMP].
In either occurrence to be fall us, if it were widespread, the collapse would occur through phases. First we would see the light atmosphere of helping out neighbors....throwing mass barbecues to eat meat before it spoiled, and the expectation that the government would soon set things right. Then would come the realization that government was incapable of repairing the damage, or providing basic services. Neighbors would become guarded and there would be yet-still-lawful runs on food stores, gas stations [that could pump on generator power] and banks.
Then we would move into the next phase where lawlessness would start to become rampant, as law enforcement would protect their homes and families, rather than the community. Finally, chaos and tribalism. Tribalism for those communities that can band together under strong leadership and have a sense of self sufficiency....in the rural areas. The urban landscape would become a free fire zone for anyone with a gun.
For anyone who thinks this a morbid prophesy, just stop and think how you would feed your family if truck and trains couldn't run, to deliver necessities to stores...and if hospitals had no medicine or power after the generators stopped for lack of fuel.
There have been several proposed bills to mitigate this risk....by stocking the massive transformers that take years to build, and are built overseas; by required hardening of power plants and substations, as well as critical infrastructure [the military does this to some extent already]. But these bills have gone nowhere, due primarily to cost. Guess where the power lobbyists fall on this issue?
I was talking to an engineer some time ago, and I asked ... “Why in the world do we continue to place high tension wires on the top of telephone poles? Every time we have a hurricane, or an ice storm, or tornado winds felling trees, we end up in the same place. Large sections of counties or cities without power for days. Why haven’t we placed the electric cables in sealed PVC pipes underground?”
He answered, “Because whenever there is a disruption to power due to natural occurrences, the power companies get massive subsidies from the federal government to repair them. It is such a profit-making proposition that everyone thinks it makes better sense to string cables, rather than burying them.
Next week, Jews all over the world will celebrate Passover with the traditional Seder dinner. Passover is about the exodus from Egypt and a reminder that they were slaves until led to freedom by Moses. Passover is an annual reminder of the survival of Jews and Judaism against extraordinary odds. But Passover is much more than eating Gefilte Fish, Matzo Ball Soup, and Chopped Liver. The Passover Seder is kind of like the dinner as the Christian celebrated by Jesus and his apostles known as “The Last Supper”. While Jews pray for a messianic age, Christians identify Jesus as their messiah.
Back in 1967 Israel was attacked by Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, but they were once again defeated, and it only tool SIX days.
The war was a military disaster for the Arabs but it was also a massive blow to the man who was seen as the leader of the Arab world at that time a man named Gamal Abdul Nasser of Egypt.
And in 1973, the Yom Kippur war took its name from having been attacked on its most holy of days by Syria and Egypt. While other nations are granted the lands they capture in war, particularly a war of defense, Israel continues to be accused of “occupying” them.
But even with that Victory, Israel has never really enjoyed peace with the Arab nations that surround it. And these days it is continually under attack from the “so called” Palestinians who protest their refugee status, but nothing is ever mentioned of the hundreds of thousands of Jews who became refugees when they were forced to flee from Middle Eastern nations in which many had lived for generations; double the number cited for Palestinians displaced in 1948. I call them the “so called” Palestinians, because the isn’t any such place as “Palestine”. And the Palestinians today are demanding recognition as a separate state, but after six decades they have never accepted the right of Israel to exist, insisting instead on its destruction. So here we are and that brings us to the Obama administration and Mr. John Kerry.
The latest FAILURE of the Obama administration to achieve what no previous one accomplished, a state of peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Secretary of State, John Kerry, was so desperate for any solution that he floated the notion of freeing the Israeli spy, Jonathan Pollard, currently serving a life sentence, in exchange for Israel’s acceptance of the transfer of strategic parts of its homeland and acceptance of the return of millions of Palestinian Arab refugees—now the oldest “refugee” group in the world. Something that even Jonathan Pollard denounced. The “Arab Spring” was an effort by Egyptians, Libyans, and Tunisians to overthrow their despots. The new, interim Egyptian government has declared the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. The Palestinian groups, Hezbollah and Hamas, have a long history of terrorism as do fascist Islamic groups such as al Qaeda and others. Another FAILURE that was supported by Barack Obama. I doubt that either President Obama or John Kerry know or care about the history I have cited above. Despite the fact that Israel is the only ally the U.S. has truly had in the Middle East, Obama’s policy has been to withdraw from that region of the world and largely abandon it to the turmoil it is enduring. Their effort to negotiate with Iran ignores its hatred of the U.S. since it took our diplomats hostage in 1979 and its long quest to have its own nuclear weapons with which to impose its hegemony. All of Obama’s efforts regarding the Middle East have met with failure. Obama has created ill will towards Benjamin Netanyahu. Obama needs to be reminded of this basic truth. The fact that Israel is LITERALLY the only ally the U.S. has truly had in the Middle East.
Happy Passover, and Happy Easter
Mustang - That is sadly easy for me to believe. I suppose that largesses is more important than the health and safety of the citizen.
I think the lack of electricity would devastate our way of life. Those on the left feel guilty for what we have. They wish to lower our standard of living rather than raising poorer nation's standards of living.
Mustang, I worked for the telephone company for thirty years. I was told it cost us $3.00 a foot to put cable in the air versus $25.00 a foot for underground. I'm sure those figures are much higher now.
So, a woman Attacked Hillary Clinton by throwing her Shoe at her while she was giving a speech in Las Vegas
Should we cheer like the liberals did when that happened to president Bush? I say hell yes, why the hell not! Good for that women having the guts to do what I would have wanted to do.
So CBS named Colbert as Letterman replacement, whatever, I’m glad to see that leftist commie Letterman go!
I think I'd miss the peace we live in compared to places like Africa. Being hungry is one thing, knowing you can get killed b/c you're part of the wrong tribe is another.
I wouldn't miss technology. Electricity for the hot shower.
I love the idea of a silent world aside from nature sounds, music and people chattering. So any technology that creates noise, including cars, can go.
FrogBurger
The Buddhists say there are 121 states of consciousness. Of these, only three involve misery or suffering. Most of us spend our time moving back and forth between these three.
Fredd, no....the Thais were perfectly happy; probably oblivious to the fact that their having lunch at a table on a lovely river bank in their backyard was something the richest New Yorker might not have or appreciate. The Dems would only look at them and decide they need better and start cleaning the river to protect some little fish and.....the people would have to give up their lovely spot, etc
Average American; fantastic story and so apt to my post. If only more kids knew how different it was for us.
And how much better in most ways, huh?
j-Blog; I try to keep comments a bit closer to MY SUBJECT, particularly from new guests. I'm keeping yours up only for the information that might interest some.
Am attending a Passover seder myself Monday night...Easter's next Sunday :)
No matter where you live, you can never have enough youth/good health!
Once upon a time I would have said I would miss the predictable order of society, rule of constitutional law, blah, blah, blah. But since that's rapidly disappearing ....
I'll have to stick strictly with the material: the slave in the wall, and anything it runs -- mostly the freezer/fridge. I have always been very grateful for that, especially when I visited my grandmother who did not have that until I was older. Even with electricity she cooked on a wood stove and ran her wash through a hand wringer washer. But the day the refrigerator arrived was bliss!
Z: There's nothing silly about your post, at all. It is thought provoking, and the thread can go in all sorts of directions.
Yeah. I have too much stuff. My garage is stacked with stuff from 20 years ago when we stored some of my mother-in-law's things. My basement, once flooded, is crammed with things that need throwing away. I find it too hard to bring things upstairs, so I might as well hire a couple of guys to do that for me.
I have too many shoes. Too many socks. Too many sets of underwear. Too many old dress shirts. All this from lingering horrors of not being able to throw a suitcase together for a fast business trip. I don't trip, anymore.
Most of all, I have too much food in the house. I can't turn down a good price on a can of beans or a loaf of bread. Our pantry and our freezer are overflowing.
Ed: I'm with you, guy. I cannot do without my toys. Since I don't own a workable gun, I guess my armory in my kitchen drawers with the cutlery.
Bob, talk about a thoughtful comment; thanks for that.
Yes we do have too much.
But the SHOWER is what gets me...
Never standing in a really hot shower for as long as one likes....so many have never had that.
We have too much but I'm so sure that some will always have more and that this is the plan.
Imagine a world where everyone has the same? It can never be 'the same amount of riches' it will always, by necessity and practicality, be 'the same amount of nothing', which I believe many think is better.
I don't.
Ed...exactly! But what brought up armory, anyway? :-)
Perspective is always good Z. I like the big picture and the small picture for balance. Yes, it can always be a lot worse and for many is is. I've read 3/4's of the world doesn't even have indoor plumbing.
I think these things when I follow some older woman into a supermarket bent over with a cane moving slowly. Maybe I'll do that myself someday.
On the other hand a person has to keep their eye on goals in order to get ahead. One needs a little self-focus and greed. It's an interesting place to reside.
The other thought I had reading this is that a couple decades ago, I knew many poor people who were quite happy. Happier than rich people in fact that I knew. Life was simple. Pleasures were simple for them. Happiness was an easy target.
Then the democrats ramped up and they tell them how victimized they are and unhappy they should be and so it is.
Things I dont want to do without.
My guns are part of that.
Especially under CIs scenario.
Mustang, Yes, I've had those same thoughts and from glancing at the news these last 10 years or so, my personal opinion is that things would go all blood in the streets in about 2 weeks.
I believe most people wouldn't have the faintest idea how to deal with a disruption in any essential service.
Home invasions for food, gasoline, tradable items, weather gear depending on the season.
Lord of the Flies in about 2 weeks, depending on your specific neighborhood.
CI. Thorium/Molten Salt reactors as abundant as cell towers. 100% safe. There is thorium everywhere.
We had one running in the 60s. Didn't build them because they don't produce weapons grade 'waste'.
Abundant information available on the net.
So, why are we waiting Or wasting time with nonsense like wind farms.
I'm thinking a cross between greed and stupidity.
Ya, Kid...in my hastily and badly thought out comment above yours, about riches and poverty, I meant to include how RICHES are BETTER and that we should all strive for BETTER. Please take a look; the rest of what I wrote about that makes a little sense :-)
And yes, I see old women all bent over, and think the same thing.."uhoh"
Also, shortly after Mr. Z died, I saw a REALLY REALLY old couple holding hands and walking through the grocery store and I thought " How wonderful to be together so long. I hope you know how blessed you are!"
That's something nobody could ever get 'enough' of, isn't it.
Ed...I get ya! Thanks!
THORIUM...Morton salt shakers?..I mean...WHAT?
Z, My comment wasn't in reply to your comments, but just the post and what my thoughts were.
In simple terms, thorium produces a nuclear reaction that heats the molten salt which is in a container sealed with a plug at the bottom. If it every got too hot the plug melts and the molten salt flows down into a containment vessel.
The molten salt heats the water making steam which runs the turbines which make the wheels on the bus go round and round. Just trying to amuse myself.
The thorium reactor is a breeder reactor which means it consumes all of its fuel and there is no nuclear waste.
@Kid --- Lord of the Flies in about 2 weeks, depending on your specific neighborhood.
----
Says Piggy.
Kid, that's what I figured and why I wanted to point out that my comment kind of dovetailed yours; that I totally agree with you.
Never mind...so little of my comment on that made sense. sorry! I was writing quickly
I don't suppose there's enough money in thorium to get it started?
I was just watching MSNBC and laughing my head off that Rachel Maddow is STILL claiming we went into Iraq for OIL! I'm waiting and hoping that we got some, aren't you? :-)
Ducky....Kid's about a thousand times more a man than Piggy. Or you, no offense meant.
at least, not much.
Z, thorium and money. I'd define it as doing something sensible with energy doesn't fit with the obama/UN agenda that currently revolves around stealing untold sums of money under the cover of the greatest scam in human history - climate change.
So yea, you're spot on actually. ;-)
Z, PS, I want my Oil !
Z, PSS. Isn't it interesting that the people who Stole The Iraq Oil, are:
- jockstrap "sacre bleu" Chirac when he was president of France
- kofi "coffee banana" annan of the UN when he was in the primary money stealing seat - and his son too btw.
- Russia and some others.
Bush and No One in America got any oil. Or money out of the deal.
But libtards don't let facts stand in the way of their lust for Bush hate. It's what keep their pilot lights lit. Pilot lights fueled with the natural gas made available from Fracking btw.
But that doesn't bother them either. They are at a Max Hypocritical, and nothing will stand in the way. Lol.
You can tell we went in for the oil by the way we built a fortified highway between the oil fields and Basra and ignored all else.
We didn't? Oh. Never mind.
Kid, Ed..you guys are the greatest :)
You lifted my spirits tonight, thanks!
AA: You had TWO black and white stations? You youngster!
The questions posed in your last paragraph cross my mind each day. Not to sympathize with my own family, they did endure a lot on both sides of the Pacific during the War. They struggled to stay nourished and had nothing in the way of utilities for months as Mustang mentioned. Now, they are not struggling but absolutely savor the basics in life. Myself, I have not really endured and frankly, am quite likely "spoiled" in my surroundings. But as Mustang mentioned, when it comes right down to it, I would miss electricity the most. No lights, no hot water for a spoiled man's shower and most of all, no homemade ice cream. No water would end my misery, though.
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