Marilynne’s World

The world is going crazy.  Nothing seems the same any more. Things aren’t the way we want them to be.

• We’re fighting a war most of us would rather not fight. 
• We have a political campaign in progress where, in the final count, we don’t have any say on who is on the ballot.  Our parties will tell us for whom to vote.
• The stock market goes up and down like a yo-yo.
• The price of gas just keeps going up.
• People are loosing their homes because they can’t pay the mortgage.
• People are out of work who never thought it would happen.

So, yes, the world is going crazy.  Or you could say that the world that we’ve been enjoying is going into a new phase.  You see, if you are in the midst of the muddle, you may think the world is ending.  But it’s not.

It’s going to be different and you’re going to have to learn to cope. The longer you try to hold on to what you can’t have, the longer it will take to recover.

For advice on how to cope, I looked to those people who grew up during the depression.  Even after things got better, they still couldn’t loosen up.  They were always preparing for the next downturn.  When the war was over, things did get better.  How did these people react?

• They did things in moderation. 
• They kept their homes small and simply furnished. 
• They tried to pay cash for everything. Their debts were modest.
• They didn’t buy anything they couldn’t afford. 
• They planted vegetables instead of flowers and shared the excess with their neighbors.
• They put money in the bank for emergencies.
• They used things up.  They didn’t buy new until the old one didn’t work any more.
• They recycled what they could.  They handed down clothing, from one kid to another, from one family to another. 
• They offered each other rides when they could and accepted rides when they couldn’t. 
• They took public transportation.
• They learned to enjoy life and have fun without paying for it: having people for dinner, playing cards, picnics, etc.

Do you think this would work now?  Well, that’s the question.  That’s what we need to ask ourselves.  We can’t go backwards, but we can look to the past for attitudes and solutions.  Ask yourself, how many of these things you can do?  Don’t feel guilty if you can’t do something.  Just do your best.

Here are some of the things that come to mind.  You’ll find they aren’t original.

• Carpool or take public transportation.
• Live close to work.
• Live in housing that’s a little less than you can afford.
• Use things up before you replace them.
• Recycle.
• Keep your bills paid.  Avoid debt.

It sounds a lot like the last list - right?  I’d be interested in hearing from you about how you plan to change.  It’s a crazy world right now.  It’s our job to get it back on course.

Marilynne

Trackback URL

campaign, carpooling, depression era, gas prices, loosing homes, mortgages, out of work, public transportation, recycling., stocks, war, world crazy