How People Would Come To Change

If we scaled down our consumption, how would People change? With large scale businesses failing, they’d leave, and should we still want the things they once sold, the people within our community, people we know, love, and care for would have as big of an opportunity as they could to take action on their curiosities, passions, and dreams. The experience of work would become totally new. Within the businesses that exist now, the hearts and the souls, the individuality and the creativity of the people are not present. This is because they’re not necessary or valuable. Not only this, but they’re a barrier to the ability of the individual to execute the decisions made by those far above and far away. The significance of the problems caused by this, and the significance of the effects of solving this problem are of the largest magnitude, impacting all details of our lives. No longer would our work environments be a fake group of people who don’t deeply know each other just following orders together. The politics and the fear of HR would evaporate, and left would be a family of people who truly cared for, loved, and respected each other, with the responsibility and ability of doing what they believe is right, which if it’s not, has in this local scale the greatest potential of getting fixed as fast as possible and with the least amount of hurting more people than it should. (Amen, Conservatives?) Owners, now completely free and responsible to do what they believe best, experience the greatest rush of freedom allowing their long suppressed creativity and abilities to shine. The employees, now directly in front of the owner, have the same rush of freedom and opportunity, coming from the new truth they can make a positive difference if they’re capable. Work as a Massive Part of Life Work, both our own and the work of others, is a massive part of our life, isn’t it? Is not a majority of lives working and consuming the work of others? A change so dramatic to something so fundamental in our lives would change our lives. It would change who we are. Would we not become a better people? There is a correlation with one’s ownership in something and their care for it. More ownership, more attention to detail, more feeling of duty and responsibility to maintain and improve quality. This is undeniable, yet we’ve allowed such reduction in ownership by average people. We have become the renters of our lives, the renters of our realities. We have been sold convenience rather than learning to find joy in doing things we ought be responsible for. There is benefit to having others think and act so you don’t have to - ease. But the negatives infinitely outweigh them. We get a less accurate representation of our hearts, of what we would’ve made if we were the decision makers. There’s also danger in it. When you outsource ownership, (decision making) you give power to a system of people who may not always be worthy of it, and who may use it incorrectly. This is a risk that America was founded on saying no to. The effect of returning power to the masses from the concentrated few, would be a tremendous good. With great power, comes great responsibility. This cliche exists for a reason. It’s true. With the power now back in our hands, in order to succeed, we would need to become better, wiser, more honorable, capable, trustworthy people. Today we consume from places that are highly scaled and decisions that should be ours are not. They belong to people in the cities where the corporations are headquartered. We are simply managers. We are the soldiers following the orders of the generals. To delete these people from the hierarchy, and give the decision making to us, we would need to be better, more capable of discernment and of doing what is right, and knowing why what’s right is right. How significant this would be, as it would impact more than our lives at work, but all parts of our lives. We would find the benefits of doing right returning. No longer in our lives do the benefits that are supposed to come from doing the right things exist. In the past, when one went to the bank to get a loan, how they dressed had impact on the quality of the loan they got, or whether they got a loan at all. Not anymore. Now, regardless of suit or sweatpants, numbers are put into a computer and calculated by an algorithm not taking into account truer and better pieces of information that could and should be, things only knowable at the local level - their smile, their reputation, their family, their story, their involvement in the community, how they’ve presented themself for this important ask. Things are strange now. Is the right thing still to present yourself well to those you’re asking something from, when those you’re asking from are no longer the ones really making the decision, when they themselves would wear sweatpants if they didn’t have a dress code telling them they cannot. Is the system now not deception and rules and lies? To summarize, the greater ones ownership in something (and the closer one is to the ownership of something) the greater the love, care, pride, obsession and responsibility one has for the work being done, the more love and gratitude they have for the customers their creations are for, the more hope for their future and their ability to rise to the top, the more incentive to become a better person, more importance to the story of the business, and community and world that they are part of. Would there not be more meaning and beauty in the things we consume? When someone asks about a piece of art in your home, a piece of furniture, or your outfit, more than ever we say we found it at TJ Maxx or on Amazon. This is something we take pride in, but should we when the alternative is sharing with the person asking the story of a local person who imagined and created it, how their family has been doing so for generations, where they gathered the materials from, and how you yourself put in custom requests for specific details? In the same way a drawing on the wall made by a son or daughter makes a parent smile more than a copy pasted, mass produced image, if we scaled down our consumption in all genres, wouldn’t there be more happiness and meaning in our daily lives with everything surrounding us having a beautiful story? Wouldn’t everything all feel more true? Whether it’s the artwork which hangs in our walls, the cups we drink our coffee out of, the plates we eat off of, if it was made more locally, it would be better. Wouldn’t we find ourselves with greater peace, intention, and inspiration within the rooms we exist within, created by a relationship with each of the pieces within each room. Wouldn’t our possessions become so special that they would be worthy of passing down to the next generation when our time was coming to an end? This tradition has become mostly a cliche. Wouldn’t the return of meaning and quality in our consumption have this old tradition return? Would our things not become more worthy of maintaining rather than replacing? And wouldn’t we find ourselves with lower quantities of high quality items rather than what we have now, high quantities of low quality things? Would both of these not be great steps in solving the problem of sustainability talked about so much? We need to remember what exactly the purpose of the stuff that we consume is. At its core, is it not to make us better creators ourselves? The answer is yes. And we’ve completely forgotten this, as evidenced by the many low quality, low meaning things we consume which by definition make us lower quality creators. Would we not become a healthier people? Along with the new true reasons to be healthier, wouldn’t we naturally just become more so by consuming only locally produced food? If we were only consuming food which came from our own community, would we not be consuming more real food, less fake, processed, and unhealthy food? If we began to consume local, would the entertainment and things we spend our free time doing not be more active, making us move more? There wouldn’t need to be “health food” grocery stores. We wouldn’t need vitamin shops. What we would already be consuming would have everything we need. We won’t need to supplement - we’ll already have what we need - and every store will naturally be healthy. To go a little deeper, is not Kroger and Whole Foods evidence of a two tiered society? Read more: Food as Culture by Michael Pollan https://fs.blog/michael-pollan-food-as-culture/ Wouldn’t the process of going shopping be so much more enjoyable? This may be silly, but there’s a scene in John Wick where John goes shopping. The guy working there, helping him actually knows what he's talking about. He says, “I can wholeheartedly endorse a specific item”. How would we react if anybody in our modern consumption environment said this? Would we not raise an eyebrow and chuckle? Why is this? Nobody is so deep in their work that they can say this truly, and we the consumers know this. They can’t believe in something they don’t know, that they had no influence over. This would change. And how awesome that change would be. In the same way we have no good answer for the people who ask us about our possessions, those who presently sell us our possessions have no answers to our questions. Imagine walking into an art gallery and being able to ask any question about the artist, how they made it, what the style of art is called, where they painted it, what their story is. Imagine walking into a furniture store and being able to learn about what region the wood that made that exact piece came from, the people who cut it down, the person who made it, and how long they’ve been doing it. Imagine if the creator was there in the store, able to answer any curiosities you may have. Imagine how curious you could again become, with the best source of answer right in front of you. Imagine how exciting daily life would be with a community full of these experts in their craft, all around you able to be asked anything on your mind. Imagine walking into a restaurant and having the people responsible for every detail of the experience within the restaurant with you, again, allowing you to ask anything! If we were to begin consuming local, the options we would find ourselves with would be higher quality. There is no doubt they would increase in price, but doesn’t this too increase the excitement of shopping? How much more special are things you had to save for? How much more excited are you throughout your day when you have a goal you’re getting closer and closer to achieving? How much better do you take care of them once you do? We need to realize we have prioritized speed and cost over love and quality, and that we are worse for it. The other side of this is those working Would we not, not in spite of work, but because of it, become more alive, inspired, happy and motivated? In our present consumption environment, there is no love, pride, or art in things sold. Rather than us being involved in their creation, they are handed down to us to sell. This makes us interchangeable and makes any skills we have deeper than selling, organizing, and restocking not relevant or necessary to the success of the business. Here’s how to think about it - if suddenly, all shipments to Tj Maxx were to freeze, and the employees of TJ Maxx were to create what they sell, what would happen? A great sense of anxiety at first, yes, but then what? Motivated action towards the learning and mastery of creating the products sold. Quickly there would be a great pride in their creations, and a desire to share with customers how the item was created and why. Customers would become more than ever, appreciative and respectful, grateful for the time and effort put into something the customer will make a deep part of their life. Would the prices be higher? Yes! But wouldn’t this be worth it? Yes! More than ever, people are empty and lost. They lack meaning and purpose. The negatives of this lack of reason to be our best is evident in much of our behavior - sadness, depression, unhealthy decisions for the body and mind like eating poorly and filling our boredom with distraction. It’s also the other side of emotions - false pride, greed, and vanity. All of these things are separation from true happiness, happiness that would grow and forever blossom should we just consume locally. We need a true and good reason to reset our lives to go towards this true happiness. We need a new hope to motivate change in behavior and lives. Would this not be it? Just think. Rather than something printed a million times by a machine in China, then sent to every TJ Maxx throughout the United States, you will be on a walk at the park and see someone with an easel, painting, and buy it! Would the prices be higher? Yes! But wouldn’t this be worth it? Yes! This with every genre of consumption. Every genre of work full of creativity and imagination, passion and obsession, excitement, inspiration, duty and pride. Do you see it? Would we not learn better who we are, making us truer, and more confident? Every genre of consumption and creation is an art, an art worthy of a hearts full efforts. The scaling down of our consumption would create as great a quantity of opportunities as possible for every member of the community to find what it is they’re curious about and inclined towards and pursue it. Each of us more able to be the artist of our realities, and creators rather than takers, we would get to know ourselves more deeply, see what we believe and yearn for, and have the opportunity to bring it to live. Confidence is not something one chooses to be. It is the natural effect of knowing what one believes, knowing what one wants, and believing in their capability to achieve it. No way makes this more possible than the environment that comes about when all consume strictly local. To be alive is to have an answer for why everything is the way it is in your reality. It’s to never be asked a question about your life and have to think about it, but to always know who you are and why you are who you are. If we were to begin consuming locally once again, would this not be the case once again? Before we knew how habits were formed, did people form habits? Of course, but they came about naturally. Naturally meaning the want which caused the habit to succeed in taking root was strong enough to sustain the work needed to create the habit. But now that we know how habits are formed, we artificially try to create them when they wouldn’t have come about naturally. We force upon ourselves and suffer through the work which should be natural, and because of this we’re not becoming who we’re meant to be. We’re lying ourself into someone false. No longer will this be the case. No longer will there be attempts at becoming someone for any reason other than we are meant to be that! Our surroundings will be full of opportunity to find and fully pursue to the depths who we are. Habits that are meant to stick, will automatically stick, and no longer will there be failing, guilt, or shame. Just excitement and hope as we discover who we are, and become that person more. No longer will there by lying, both to others and to ourselves in this regard. In a community consuming locally, it will be difficult, not as it is now, to succeed at hiding your true colors, but difficult to hide your true self. The average person today stands out for being happy. We want the opposite. And with all the happiness that would come, they would. Would this not make us more courageous? More hopeful? Less fearful and worried? More adventurous? More inclined to risk taking? More capable of following your dreams and heart? More willing to stand up for what you believe in? Yes. We will no longer be afraid of failure. No longer will anything take away our hope. No longer will we wake up and feel depression at the day ahead of us. In our mornings we will begin to go “Oh, I’m actually excited!” Would we not find ourselves full of gratitude? Would we not better see our connection to the story of humanity? And would we not have a more proper perspective in regard to the miracle of our existence. Techno-Humanist Manifesto - Chapter 1 https://www.freethink.com/society/techno-humanist-manifestochapter-1 YouTube Short https://youtube.com/shorts/yl2RNgzfgWI?si=JVitEj1YWBU9Zyob YouTube Short https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fw_cl8-fs9s YouTube Short https://www.youtube.com/shorts/W6WD5_Udg1w YouTube Short https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Oev9cxDbkkU YouTube Short https://www.youtube.com/shorts/odoM6_Yukvw YouTube Short https://www.youtube.com/shorts/lPFagZ36GoI Would we not always have something in the future we’re looking forward to? In a community full of people fully pursuing their truest dreams, wouldn’t we all be full of excitement for the future? Our own futures, the futures of those we care for, the future of businesses and groups striving for things we care for, and the future of our surroundings? Taken to the extreme, would every moment of every day not be worthy of excitement? This would be peace, no longer looking into the future with excitement or worry, but getting lost in our present because our present is so good it’s worthy of our full presence. Wouldn’t we be more able to trust that where we were is where we were meant to be? In other words, wouldn’t we be able to let go a bit, allow for the workings of fate, spontaneity and destiny to shape our lives? If you don't believe it is your destiny to be where you are, then why are you there? The modern answers are money, pride, and fear. This is to compromise, to lie to yourself, by choosing something that you believe worthy of disobeying destiny for. Who are you to disobey destiny, a cosmic plan bigger than you, a plan that has you being all you can be? A world where everybody believes they are truly where they should be, or are heading in the right direction, is a world with no insecurity. It’s a world where someone can put in all the effort they can and are rightfully proud of where they end up. The goal is not a world where anyone can get to the top with enough work. Rather, the goal is a world where the person who should get to the top does get to the top. And the best way for this to happen is to follow your heart and trust, best (and perhaps only) possible in a system which consumes locally. We must remember destiny. We must live our lives and go with the adventure that comes. Culture has developed a pressure to make as much money as you can. Look at the world which has come about. The infinite conquest of global completion. To those people obsessed and motivated by money, chill out. Ask, What do you love? Answer, What would you do if money was not important? Then do it. And realize that it’s worth it. Your one life. Wouldn’t our lives and the stories which make them up become better than the fake ones we consume? We've become spectators to those who truly live. On social media, we watch people build things, cook, make things, and have fun. On reality tv we watch people renovate homes. On streaming platforms we watch people play video games. It seems we no longer enjoy the things we do when we're not spectating. We believe more in the dreams of fictional characters than our own and in the real ones of others right in front of us. Isn’t this wrong? Isn’t this worth inspecting and correcting? Don't you want a life that a book could be written about? Don't we each want to have a love story worthy of a bestselling novel? Don’t we each want to have a conquest stories? We each need to ask ourselves, what story do we want to tell? The answer is yes to these questions, but the answer is also no, because we now are wise enough to see this would mean those who watch and read it are taking away from their lives. Would we not become a truer community, more so united towards greatness and pursuing shared goals together? Would we not have higher quality families, friends, and friendships? Where do family members get to know each other? In President Reagan's farewell address, he said it was at the dinner table. Never have we as a community (and nation) had regular family dinners so little. Does this mean family members know each other less? You better believe it. We have more problems now as individuals than ever. No wonder! We no longer have a family full of people we know, and who know us. If we don’t know our family, how can we respect or trust them? How can we value their opinion when their opinion won’t be as accurate to what we need given their lack of understanding about us? How can they love us, when they don’t know us? We’re told therapy is the answer, but shouldn’t it be family? It used to be, and when it was, things were better. Just another instance of our consumption being outsourced to greater and greater scales - this time, wisdom. That should be terrifying to all. Scale down consumption, rebuild family. Scaling down our consumption would also result in the return of beautiful, high quality non-family relationships in our lives. A community full of people you see every day who know you and care for you deeply, and who you know and care deeply for. How much better a community this would be. One where you know the dreams of those around you, and have the ability to help them. One where you recognize when something is wrong in someone you care for, and can help them. One where there’s people who will do that for you. One where people credit you for their success in the pursuit of their dreams. One where you can be true and yourself, never fake or a different person than you were in an earlier moment, where you don’t have to hide. One full of empathy, coming from understanding people and their flaws and how that makes them who they are. People do what they do for reasons good or bad. Go explore them. Go become their friend. Go take an interest in that person, and help them. Take a deeper interest in people. Not just what naturally comes up in conversation, but what they are currently yearning for. What they currently want. Greed and ambition are natural in a community where consumption is scaled high. To scale it down would result in a community where instead, you love thy neighbor. How far down your street do you need to go to be surprised if you woke up one morning and unexpectedly saw a for sale sign in their yard? Shouldn't anyone in a community leaving be a sad surprise? Shouldn’t you have been involved in their decision? Shouldn't they have told you or confessed to you earlier? So you can plan your last bit of time together? Another silly mention. In Season 4, Episode 6 of Stranger Things, Nancy asked Robin, “does that make us officially friends now?” Becoming friends used to be a ceremony! People of the past used to take seriously the moments where friendship became official. We’ve lost this. We don’t say things like this anymore. We’ve become so abstract. We’ve lost our intentionality in the things which matter most. There’s so much ambiguity. We don’t know why we’re doing what we’re doing. We need to get to know the people we interact with, and help them achieve their goals, help maximize the probability that they do something good with their life. We need people in our lives who do this for us. We need people in our lives who believe us when we’re telling the truth when we need them to believe us. We as a community need to share these people. Watch Video https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0M1eyHlNayE Wouldn’t our devices fade away? We want our community and our lives to be so entertaining and beautiful that boredom eliminating devices become obsolete, and in their gaps, there would be the return of our own stories, filled with relationships, art, experiences, creating, and our work. We want our lives to be filled with such great natural inputs we don't want or need artificial input. This happens as much as one consumes locally. Social media, and screens are artificial input. What’s seen on them is not real. It's not reality. Seeing your friend got married is less real than going to get coffee with your friend and learning about it there. There's less depth to it. There's less beauty in it. There's less excitement about it. It's less real. Our distraction devices make people less receptive to things which would make them truly joyful. When people are less receptive to joyful things, the world stops being rewarded for creating those moments. The creation of joy, isn’t that what capitalism was supposed to be? Where has it gone wrong? Scale. A phone is an electric shock collar for humans in the sense it takes you out of your presence. There is a better metaphor, one a little lost to time, and that is a whistle. In the same way a whistle was used to tell people to get out of the trenches and go run and fight in WW1, it's something that stops you from living. Every single moment of your reality should be so good that you don't want it to be interrupted, yet we carry around phones which do exactly that. They blind us to the beauty of the real world. We need to replace the digital world with the physical world. There is a phrase in the “startup community,” the community that has produced all of the websites and technology we now use everyday - “the internet is eating the world”. This site, radius, ought be the final bite it takes, that allows we the people the ability have the internet spit it all out for us to continue where we left off. And when we’re done, this website will be the final thing spit. Would we not have pride in our lives, leading to a most proper death? We want to live and die without regrets. Would the community that came about if we decided to consume local not lead to an end of life with this true?