letter to a friend

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This is part of a letter to a friend,who for many years has lived a relatively low impact lifestyle-small cabin,no elec,haul water,no car, walks to work etc. She's a book editor,has just finished a major project and was wondering which direction her life would take now. We've talked a bit about y2k and other issues,like genetic engineering and technology's assertiveness over our lives. She has a bit of a love hate relationship with this tech stuff,sort of like my wife and I... It was interesting that you mentioned these "squirmy" issues. I've been doing alot of grappling myself during the past year-mostly but not entirely stimulated by y2k. Yeah...heavy questions about good and evil,mortality,which life forms will survive. Or is it possible for humans to live in balance with their surroundings or is it "inevitable" that they overpopulate,manipulate,overreach,overextend themselves and crash. And what would people's reaction be to $5/gal rationed gas,irregular elec,stock mkt plunge,radical recession? How to cope when the rules of the game change in a hurry. Seems like the best preps would be spiritual-emotional in nature, that which can be maintained within,hopefully regardless of external circumstances. Oh,I know it sounds a bit trite I wouldn't want not to have some food put by either. But I wonder...people(myself for sure) get so caught up in this physical plane. Sometimes i think most of the world's ills could be traced to people never feeling they have enough of the physical. A lack of trust in the power and purpose of the creation(and each other)perhaps? IMO if there is a gigantic crash,those of us who may survive would be well advised to temper our tinkering,improving on nature side with conscious thought of how to get along with each other,the long range consequences of our day to day actions etc. That just maybe the security we crave(which often is most elusive in these times)would be better obtained by working at trust and communication rather than the piling up of physical possessions. For what it's worth... Howie

-- Howie (biggguy79@hotmail.com), December 16, 1999

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