This is all massively life-changing for me, and I think it should be, for all of us - hence the benefit to you of considering what is on my mind. Point being, I think a calm, courageous, thoughful, open minded read by you would be:
1. Important to your life (whether you agree or disagree with my view), and
2. If you have comments or suggestions to share with me you deem important, I'd be VERY grateful.
I never have expectations of what others should do. Mine is just to offer, and communicate.
Oh, if any of this makes your head SPIN, welcome to my world. My head is spinning, and I am oscelating between utter terror at the world we've allowed to take hold, and Peace of Heart that I'm getting my bearings and seeing what is needed of me. Sort of. ]]]
---------------------------------------------
These posts are important lead-up, processing, genesis... of the most important parts here -
*********PART B************ below
*********PART A************ below
The leadup posts:
***** A FB dialog with a Friend tonight - detail...
***** Dialog with PC via Email this moring. detail...
***** Note to one of my closest friends, Jehovah's Witness Joe. detail...
---------------------------------------------
[MW is a very new, young (college student I think) (2 days ago was our first correspondence) FB correspondant.]
*********PART A************
MW:
Keep doing what you're doing brother. Not even sure how I became friends with you, but keep it up. I've cared what others think for far to long. You're inspiring for those who know change must happen, but are afraid to demand it. I am no longer that scared little kid. For the longest time I would see 7 posts in a row from you and just scroll through. Just recently began absorbing the content. So keep it up. I'll begin sharing the coal/fossil fuel and injustice posts more.
L:
Heart.
MW:
And the titanic metaphor is right on the money. Never heard it stated that way before just now.
L:
We have everything we need to prevent it, everything, except millions of citizens that love their kids and grand kids (even unborn) enough to face the truth, and it is clear we don't have that. I'm not kidding - don't have kids - it is too cruel to them; and prepare for the worst, because, you are young, and it'll be utter Hell before you are gone. I'd be no friend if I weren't honest with you.
MW:
I’ve always thought the same thing. Spent many many hours considering population control. Just so ass backwards to compound our endless problems by creating more children repeating the same terrible habits. I long ago vowed to adopt.. Crazy the looks you get from people when you even propose the idea of not having multiple children. Especially living here, in utah.
L:
Had I had the courage of my youthful wisdom, and a marriage partner of similar mind, I'd have done the same, even 30 years ago when things looked bright. I pray you find the courage of your convictions, as I did not.
MW:
Question.. How do you get over the fact that no body cares. Cat pictures and misquoted bigots get a million shares. While bone shaking facts, and statistics get completely ignored. How do you deal with that because it is the single most reason why I am as stagnant as I am.
L:
In a body riddled with cancer, there are still a few cells that are healthy, and they do what they are called to do for the body, because that is what they WANT to do. I was born and raise to be a cancer cell - of by and for the rich. I've simply determined that I find it infinitely more joyful to attempt what the body of humanity needs of me, than to be a cancer cell - self centered. "When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That is my religion." Abe Lincoln. Me too. I prefer perceiving myself as a brother to humanity, regardless of what other's perceive of me, and I therefore act accordingly. Does the insane, deadly denial, deadness, self centeredness around me hurt? Yes, it is excruciating, for me, for them, for what it is doing to the world. But, I am not called by my human family to wallow, but to assess, and act. So, not too much time wallowing. That's how it is.
MW:
thank you
L:
It was a good question. You are welcome. I hope you ponder what I shared, deeply. I do.
MW:
It’s not that I care the perception of peers so much.. That’s not my business. It’s that I get very sad and/or angry when seeing how fine people are with the current condition. To use your titanic analogy.. why not just grab some wine and go dance with the band, if nobody is willing to work as a unit and invest in the future. But then again I feel similar to what you’re saying. Not that i believe so much in a heaven and hell, but for me continuing a passive life and not working towards solutions seems to be a personal hell for me and when I am unhappiest. I’m studying engineering in the hopes of working in biofules/ wind / solar farms etc. Something, anything that is working towards a solution. And late nights in a florescent light bulb filled library like tonight it becomes easy to begin doubting the point. Just curious what kept you in the fight.
*********PART B************
L:
[A LOT of gloom and
doom follows, below, but for many, also pointed to below - there is a
massively bright future rarely seen in 1000's of years - the one I'm on
the path of.]
Wow, I am so much were you are, EVERY DAY, in terms of confronting the two options - self centered or other centered life - it all comes down to that. Self centered produces the experiences of pleasure, intoxication... and it is 100% what our culture says is real, desirable, sane.... Other centered produces the experiences of Loving, Joy of the deep Soul; and our culture talks of these in patronizing, hypocritical ways, but really reviles other-centeredness, and punishes the Hell out of it, literally tries to kill it, except for brief instances where it sees opportunity to control it for personal gain. Those are the two choices, breath by breath, day by day, lifetime by lifetime.
And they tend to be life choices - hooked on one, or hooked on the other. I was hooked on society's self-centered for 45 years, and extremely successful, and always sensing it was not fulfilling; I've been other centered for 15 years.
So, I've done both. Other centered has cost me EVERYTHING that we value in this society, and to me, what it has 'cost' me is all garbage, was then, is now. Nothing, including torture or death would make me go back to self-centered, tho things like my last 18 months battle with cancer has made that other centering more difficult, but it hasn't won, it tried to get me back to self-centered, but it lost. No, Other centered living, every breath, is Loving and Joy - HEAVEN on earth, truly; and Hell, because when you are other centered you bear the agony of the Hell we've made of this world for our larger Family; but it is so worth it.
This is everything in terms of understanding the likes of Aung San, Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, Gandhi, Alice Paul, MLK Jr, Jesus, Teresa of Calcutta, Malala, Mandela, Diane Wilson.. tho they might use different words. They got hooked on Life, being a force for Life... that is, Other-Centered living.
Nothing can make someone go back that has been hooked on it. It rarely if ever happens. But 99.9999% in our society buy what society sells - self centered (me and mine). And there are not 1 in a million examples around them to show them the Path out - to Heaven, if only Personal Heaven, on earth - other centered living - Loving, no matter what the personal price.
I am by training, formal and informal, a visionary leader. In the computer industry it got me six figures, and I saved lots of organizations and peoples jobs, and developed new markets. I 'see,' by training and use of my life, way into the future, and I'm willing, I'm compelled, to look at the dangers of where we are headed, to 'see' that the Titanic is going too fast, while EVERYONE ELSE heads for the bar; and then to mobilize myself, at least, around that vision of the future, trying to serve as many of the neediest, my global Family, as best I can. Yes, it is constantly overwhelming; but I, and really, all of us I believe, we are made for the task. But, surely, I am, however inadequate I may be.
My vision, after the last 5 years of total dedication to (unsuccessfully) helping the world avoid irreversible ecocide... my vision is that it is 99.9999999% clear to me, that we are NOT going to stop the ecocide. By way of analogy, scientficially, at this moment in time we needed to be EXECUTING the landing at Normandy to stop ecocide, D Day, and instead, our environmental 'leaders' (McKibben, 350.org, Green Peace, Sierra Club, EDF...) are deciding whether to send 4 people in polar bear costumes to Normandy Beach, or 5. Total, utter, clinically insane denial, across the board. It is over. Ecocide is NOT going to be stopped.
So hence forward, I am shifting all of my efforts, I'm very sure, to post/ongoing ecocide planning. That will be half of my focus - tho they are maybe, really both the same thing, post ecocide planning and what follows - mass economic Apocalypse.
My other focus will be the other Apocalypse - the global economic/social/political apocalypse - somewhat forced, accelerated, by ecocide, but even without ecocide - we've destroyed, and are now finishing the job, of destroying, vibrant, local, full employment, MEANINGFUL employment, compassionate community - replacing it, more and more by government fiat, mindless drone jobs for a dwindling few, with Corporate community for the few, and unemployment, meaningless poverty jobs, marginalization, mass imprisonment... for the masses.
The middle class in this country is falling into this latter category at a furious pace, and for the foreseeable future it is irreversible - we've let the uber-rich loot, and thereby own and control, 1000's of times too much; and the millions that would have to be in the streets, literally today, 2014, STANDING UNVIOLENTLY UNTIL VICTORY, to prevent the Fascist takeover in these final hours... well, there aren't even dozens ready to step up to what would be needed to wage the unviolent, but life on the line battles, that would be needed. (Oh, there are thousands on FB, but as the young google exec leader of the arab spring in Egypt, Wael Ghonim said, "History is made in the streets, not on the internet." We the people are not in the streets, and we are passionately unwilling to go in the streets.
The uber-rich and their technocrat, Fascist (I'm being academically descriptive, not hyperbolic) governmental, and military/police minions - ARE the Fascist government now - and the implications of that are beginning to unfold as we speak. And, and extremely intoxicating, self centered, joyless life, will be frantically pursued, and had, by the rapidly dwindling corpratocracy (engineers, scientists, marketers, computer jocks, brokers....) that prostitutes their lives to the uber rich. But with automation, off shoring, increasing mass poverty (fewer and fewer for the uber-rich to exploit (sell to - the masses won't have money), the size of that corpratocracy will continue to rapidly shrink. If you have not seen the movie "Elysium" you need to. That is where we are headed, fast, and nothing is going to stop us, it was now, or never, and we are not stepping up.
The Titanic, IS STRIKING, as we speak, TWO icebergs at the same time.
But there is a difference. Titanic I went down in a matter of hours. Titanic II, Earth, Global and US economy of the masses, will go down, but it will go down over centuries (tho the economic/Fascist government side for 70% of us is gunna keep plummeting for the next decade, and beyond... to a new, materially horrible, normal).
BUT, MANY PEOPLE, BETWEEN NOW AND THEN, WILL HAVE A WONDERFUL QUALITY OF LIFE, UNSEEN ON EARTH, HEAVEN ON EARTH, THAT WE HAVEN'T REALLY SEEN IN THOUSANDS OF YEARS!
Jesus saw the economic/social/psychological part, the destruction of community, UNIVERSAL FAMILY - and died trying to save us from letting it die. We crucified him, instead, and re-made him in such a way that 'he,' his corrupted teachings (words put in his mouth), would sanction our dog eat dog, corporate lust for stuff, and switch the Heaven of Brotherly Universal Community he died to create on EARTH, to one after we die, so we could have the best of both worlds - Not a real good bargain - none of us know if there is a life after this one, and we've made this one into increasingly a religiously self centered, me and mine, material/social/psychological Hell (and the ecocide part will be unfolding forever).
You, my young friend, are at historically terrifying, overwhelming, wonderful point in history. For the masses of we 7.5 billion currently on earth, and in the future, a whole new world/culture/community/way of living... of need must and will be, invented. 99.9999999999% of us in the foreseeable future, will run from this challenge like the plague - bury our heads in the sand, go even deeper into denial (tho this seems impossible), do what we can to find a chair in the rapidly dwindling chair-line of the uber-rich's corporatocracy.
You, MW, have the curse of being in college, with dreams of engineering, so you, tragically, can choose self-centered so easily, that you probably can't and won't resist it, anymore than I could at your age.
But there is a prayer for you that you will resist the siren call of the Fascist corpratocracy, self centered life (me and mine), and if so, what a wonderful, hard, Joyful, Loving life you would have. Extraordinary.
These two things, more than maybe any others, are the two things that will define the future - how fast, and how well, we create, define, develop and deploy them.
1. Renewable energy, a passion of yours, IS the future, just too slowly to avert ecocide. But it is the future. And it IS THE FUTURE FOR THE NEEDIEST 70% on earth - OUR FAMILY. Get your engineering degree... but USE IT FOR THE 70% - OTHER CENTERED. (contact Scott Montgomery, on FB (? https://www.facebook.com/scott.montgomery2005?fref=ts, and here - http://www.roots-international.org/category/scott-montgomery/ ), a young friend of mine, college degreed accountant, trying to find, and walk the Path I'm referring to, in Southern Sudan).
2. Local, complete, largely self-sufficient, Universal FamilyCommunity Living - IS THE FUTURE for the 70%. What Jesus died to show us. Deep sigh.
#2 will be my focus for the rest of my years, I'm quite sure. I'm at a different point in my life, than you. You, could devote your life to both. What an incredible, Joyful, exciting, hard... opportunity.
Regarding my personal path now: All of the above is a radical shift for me, on every level - the facing that 'it is over' in terms of stopping ecocide and avoiding fascist rule. But I'm quickly getting a sense of what it means for me personally.
I've lived at or near destitution for the last 7-12 years or so so I could devote my life to the world's dire causes - stopping the Genocide in Darfur Sudan was the start, and for the last 5 years - stopping ecocide; and most recently, trying to avert the completion of the corporate fascist takeover of world governments, really. And as I've said above, I find that all this has taught me - they are not going to be stopped, because we don't have .0000001% of the citizenry ready to do what it would unviolently take. They are NOT gunnna leave the Titanic's bar until the water is pouring in. They will not, they ARE not. And this was D Day.
So my life is radically refocusing on creating the post Apocalytic world for the masses - and that means my coming years will be massively study and learning, and writing intensive. I know enough to see that some folks have done some good thinking on re-establishing self-sufficient community, but it is really in it's infancy, so sadly, I perceive I need to jump in and try to do my part of the Visioning.
But how best to situate myself for that service, intitially, intensive study, and writing, for the coming years? I don't need to be on the street demonstrating 24/7 as I was, living there. I don't need to be in DC any longer. Best would be to live with other(s), but who, where, how?
* If two of us were living together, among other things it might be done very efficiently (spare room, spare spot on the floor), and if they were struggling, I could start my Social Security and maybe help them struggle a bit less with some of it).
* Such a thing could be an accidental, or deliberate, part of the experiment of Universal Family Community living.
* I can go back to living on the street, and bank all my Social Security when I start it, to invest if and when I see the social opportunities to do so. In every case I'd want to do this with investing in others, as much of my funds as possible.
* I can look into low income housing with my Soc Sec, and be able to bank none of the funds, for other people and causes.
* I can move into a bug infested homeless shelter as a place to sleep at least, to do my work.
Much to decide and work out. But, I will pay whatever personal and financial cost I must to follow this path, of that, I'm near certain.
Well, enough, for now.
-------------------------------------
Friends, if you have comments, questions, advice, thoughts... I'm all ears. Thank you.
01.19.14 Important UPDATE Here
Wow, I am so much were you are, EVERY DAY, in terms of confronting the two options - self centered or other centered life - it all comes down to that. Self centered produces the experiences of pleasure, intoxication... and it is 100% what our culture says is real, desirable, sane.... Other centered produces the experiences of Loving, Joy of the deep Soul; and our culture talks of these in patronizing, hypocritical ways, but really reviles other-centeredness, and punishes the Hell out of it, literally tries to kill it, except for brief instances where it sees opportunity to control it for personal gain. Those are the two choices, breath by breath, day by day, lifetime by lifetime.
And they tend to be life choices - hooked on one, or hooked on the other. I was hooked on society's self-centered for 45 years, and extremely successful, and always sensing it was not fulfilling; I've been other centered for 15 years.
So, I've done both. Other centered has cost me EVERYTHING that we value in this society, and to me, what it has 'cost' me is all garbage, was then, is now. Nothing, including torture or death would make me go back to self-centered, tho things like my last 18 months battle with cancer has made that other centering more difficult, but it hasn't won, it tried to get me back to self-centered, but it lost. No, Other centered living, every breath, is Loving and Joy - HEAVEN on earth, truly; and Hell, because when you are other centered you bear the agony of the Hell we've made of this world for our larger Family; but it is so worth it.
This is everything in terms of understanding the likes of Aung San, Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, Gandhi, Alice Paul, MLK Jr, Jesus, Teresa of Calcutta, Malala, Mandela, Diane Wilson.. tho they might use different words. They got hooked on Life, being a force for Life... that is, Other-Centered living.
Nothing can make someone go back that has been hooked on it. It rarely if ever happens. But 99.9999% in our society buy what society sells - self centered (me and mine). And there are not 1 in a million examples around them to show them the Path out - to Heaven, if only Personal Heaven, on earth - other centered living - Loving, no matter what the personal price.
I am by training, formal and informal, a visionary leader. In the computer industry it got me six figures, and I saved lots of organizations and peoples jobs, and developed new markets. I 'see,' by training and use of my life, way into the future, and I'm willing, I'm compelled, to look at the dangers of where we are headed, to 'see' that the Titanic is going too fast, while EVERYONE ELSE heads for the bar; and then to mobilize myself, at least, around that vision of the future, trying to serve as many of the neediest, my global Family, as best I can. Yes, it is constantly overwhelming; but I, and really, all of us I believe, we are made for the task. But, surely, I am, however inadequate I may be.
My vision, after the last 5 years of total dedication to (unsuccessfully) helping the world avoid irreversible ecocide... my vision is that it is 99.9999999% clear to me, that we are NOT going to stop the ecocide. By way of analogy, scientficially, at this moment in time we needed to be EXECUTING the landing at Normandy to stop ecocide, D Day, and instead, our environmental 'leaders' (McKibben, 350.org, Green Peace, Sierra Club, EDF...) are deciding whether to send 4 people in polar bear costumes to Normandy Beach, or 5. Total, utter, clinically insane denial, across the board. It is over. Ecocide is NOT going to be stopped.
So hence forward, I am shifting all of my efforts, I'm very sure, to post/ongoing ecocide planning. That will be half of my focus - tho they are maybe, really both the same thing, post ecocide planning and what follows - mass economic Apocalypse.
My other focus will be the other Apocalypse - the global economic/social/political apocalypse - somewhat forced, accelerated, by ecocide, but even without ecocide - we've destroyed, and are now finishing the job, of destroying, vibrant, local, full employment, MEANINGFUL employment, compassionate community - replacing it, more and more by government fiat, mindless drone jobs for a dwindling few, with Corporate community for the few, and unemployment, meaningless poverty jobs, marginalization, mass imprisonment... for the masses.
The middle class in this country is falling into this latter category at a furious pace, and for the foreseeable future it is irreversible - we've let the uber-rich loot, and thereby own and control, 1000's of times too much; and the millions that would have to be in the streets, literally today, 2014, STANDING UNVIOLENTLY UNTIL VICTORY, to prevent the Fascist takeover in these final hours... well, there aren't even dozens ready to step up to what would be needed to wage the unviolent, but life on the line battles, that would be needed. (Oh, there are thousands on FB, but as the young google exec leader of the arab spring in Egypt, Wael Ghonim said, "History is made in the streets, not on the internet." We the people are not in the streets, and we are passionately unwilling to go in the streets.
The uber-rich and their technocrat, Fascist (I'm being academically descriptive, not hyperbolic) governmental, and military/police minions - ARE the Fascist government now - and the implications of that are beginning to unfold as we speak. And, and extremely intoxicating, self centered, joyless life, will be frantically pursued, and had, by the rapidly dwindling corpratocracy (engineers, scientists, marketers, computer jocks, brokers....) that prostitutes their lives to the uber rich. But with automation, off shoring, increasing mass poverty (fewer and fewer for the uber-rich to exploit (sell to - the masses won't have money), the size of that corpratocracy will continue to rapidly shrink. If you have not seen the movie "Elysium" you need to. That is where we are headed, fast, and nothing is going to stop us, it was now, or never, and we are not stepping up.
The Titanic, IS STRIKING, as we speak, TWO icebergs at the same time.
But there is a difference. Titanic I went down in a matter of hours. Titanic II, Earth, Global and US economy of the masses, will go down, but it will go down over centuries (tho the economic/Fascist government side for 70% of us is gunna keep plummeting for the next decade, and beyond... to a new, materially horrible, normal).
BUT, MANY PEOPLE, BETWEEN NOW AND THEN, WILL HAVE A WONDERFUL QUALITY OF LIFE, UNSEEN ON EARTH, HEAVEN ON EARTH, THAT WE HAVEN'T REALLY SEEN IN THOUSANDS OF YEARS!
Jesus saw the economic/social/psychological part, the destruction of community, UNIVERSAL FAMILY - and died trying to save us from letting it die. We crucified him, instead, and re-made him in such a way that 'he,' his corrupted teachings (words put in his mouth), would sanction our dog eat dog, corporate lust for stuff, and switch the Heaven of Brotherly Universal Community he died to create on EARTH, to one after we die, so we could have the best of both worlds - Not a real good bargain - none of us know if there is a life after this one, and we've made this one into increasingly a religiously self centered, me and mine, material/social/psychological Hell (and the ecocide part will be unfolding forever).
You, my young friend, are at historically terrifying, overwhelming, wonderful point in history. For the masses of we 7.5 billion currently on earth, and in the future, a whole new world/culture/community/way of living... of need must and will be, invented. 99.9999999999% of us in the foreseeable future, will run from this challenge like the plague - bury our heads in the sand, go even deeper into denial (tho this seems impossible), do what we can to find a chair in the rapidly dwindling chair-line of the uber-rich's corporatocracy.
You, MW, have the curse of being in college, with dreams of engineering, so you, tragically, can choose self-centered so easily, that you probably can't and won't resist it, anymore than I could at your age.
But there is a prayer for you that you will resist the siren call of the Fascist corpratocracy, self centered life (me and mine), and if so, what a wonderful, hard, Joyful, Loving life you would have. Extraordinary.
These two things, more than maybe any others, are the two things that will define the future - how fast, and how well, we create, define, develop and deploy them.
1. Renewable energy, a passion of yours, IS the future, just too slowly to avert ecocide. But it is the future. And it IS THE FUTURE FOR THE NEEDIEST 70% on earth - OUR FAMILY. Get your engineering degree... but USE IT FOR THE 70% - OTHER CENTERED. (contact Scott Montgomery, on FB (? https://www.facebook.com/scott.montgomery2005?fref=ts, and here - http://www.roots-international.org/category/scott-montgomery/ ), a young friend of mine, college degreed accountant, trying to find, and walk the Path I'm referring to, in Southern Sudan).
2. Local, complete, largely self-sufficient, Universal FamilyCommunity Living - IS THE FUTURE for the 70%. What Jesus died to show us. Deep sigh.
#2 will be my focus for the rest of my years, I'm quite sure. I'm at a different point in my life, than you. You, could devote your life to both. What an incredible, Joyful, exciting, hard... opportunity.
Regarding my personal path now: All of the above is a radical shift for me, on every level - the facing that 'it is over' in terms of stopping ecocide and avoiding fascist rule. But I'm quickly getting a sense of what it means for me personally.
I've lived at or near destitution for the last 7-12 years or so so I could devote my life to the world's dire causes - stopping the Genocide in Darfur Sudan was the start, and for the last 5 years - stopping ecocide; and most recently, trying to avert the completion of the corporate fascist takeover of world governments, really. And as I've said above, I find that all this has taught me - they are not going to be stopped, because we don't have .0000001% of the citizenry ready to do what it would unviolently take. They are NOT gunnna leave the Titanic's bar until the water is pouring in. They will not, they ARE not. And this was D Day.
So my life is radically refocusing on creating the post Apocalytic world for the masses - and that means my coming years will be massively study and learning, and writing intensive. I know enough to see that some folks have done some good thinking on re-establishing self-sufficient community, but it is really in it's infancy, so sadly, I perceive I need to jump in and try to do my part of the Visioning.
But how best to situate myself for that service, intitially, intensive study, and writing, for the coming years? I don't need to be on the street demonstrating 24/7 as I was, living there. I don't need to be in DC any longer. Best would be to live with other(s), but who, where, how?
* If two of us were living together, among other things it might be done very efficiently (spare room, spare spot on the floor), and if they were struggling, I could start my Social Security and maybe help them struggle a bit less with some of it).
* Such a thing could be an accidental, or deliberate, part of the experiment of Universal Family Community living.
* I can go back to living on the street, and bank all my Social Security when I start it, to invest if and when I see the social opportunities to do so. In every case I'd want to do this with investing in others, as much of my funds as possible.
* I can look into low income housing with my Soc Sec, and be able to bank none of the funds, for other people and causes.
* I can move into a bug infested homeless shelter as a place to sleep at least, to do my work.
Much to decide and work out. But, I will pay whatever personal and financial cost I must to follow this path, of that, I'm near certain.
Well, enough, for now.
-------------------------------------
Friends, if you have comments, questions, advice, thoughts... I'm all ears. Thank you.
01.19.14 Important UPDATE Here
What can I say ... you have given Matthew excellent advice and I hope he heeds your words. Especially to use his degree for good not greed. I wish I had had someone like you in my life, to guide me, when I was his age. It is too late for me but your guidance of the young who are aware enough to be concerned is a blessing for all of us. <3
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