Sometimes I feel like I'm barely getting anywhere. The recent world events (near collapse of the global banking industry, high likelihood of global depression, war, "terror" attacks, etc.) have brought the need to move to a better way of life where my family can ride out the tribulations into sharper focus.
Then I step back and look at where I am vs. where I was just a year ago. We're about to head out to Vancouver, which is the first huge step on our road to our new life (not counting Simon, of course). All the small steps that have led up to this point have been tough but worthwhile. The shift in our mental state has been dramatic, to the point where we're more than ready to be gone.
I feel that while I don't know all the details of what lies ahead of me, the act of finally taking that first big step onto the road will quickly bring all of that into focus.
The downside is that the road ahead may be a lot bumpier than it otherwise would be if the world held steady for a few more years. The old Chinese curse comes to mind: May you live in interesting times.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Been a while
This was a draft I started in May 2008
The harsh reality of life right now is that I have to work within the system I want to leave to facilitate my escape from it, so it's been a while since I've had the time or inclination to write.
Expanding on the fifth point of my previous post, that we are not above the world around us, there is a particular conceit among many cultures that the ability to destroy something gives one power over it. This is, in fact, true: we hold the power of life and death over much of the world in a way that most of the other animals that inhabit it do not. I don't think it's possible that we could permanently erase all life on earth without a concerted effort, it certainly is conceivable. There was a time when man, collectively, feared the wilderness. That the cities were bastions that kept that which we feared at bay. Now the wilderness is something that has been conquered. There are few natural events that give us much pause. We can now reasonably build structures that the mightiest hurricanes, earthquakes and tornadoes can't do significant damage to.
The harsh reality of life right now is that I have to work within the system I want to leave to facilitate my escape from it, so it's been a while since I've had the time or inclination to write.
Expanding on the fifth point of my previous post, that we are not above the world around us, there is a particular conceit among many cultures that the ability to destroy something gives one power over it. This is, in fact, true: we hold the power of life and death over much of the world in a way that most of the other animals that inhabit it do not. I don't think it's possible that we could permanently erase all life on earth without a concerted effort, it certainly is conceivable. There was a time when man, collectively, feared the wilderness. That the cities were bastions that kept that which we feared at bay. Now the wilderness is something that has been conquered. There are few natural events that give us much pause. We can now reasonably build structures that the mightiest hurricanes, earthquakes and tornadoes can't do significant damage to.
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