RandOM THoUGhts FRom a RAndOm MiND
We all need to find something that will nourish ones soul....
With many of our jobs today, we lack connection to the work we do, we never see tangible results of our effort, we deal in abstractions.
We have all become drones, automatons, in the giant cog of society....this is a "manifesto" to break free and create.
Buy Nothing Until 2013 is about freedom.
Freedom from consumerism. Freedom from corporations (or a little bit of freedom, at least). Freedom from debt and overspending. Freedom from the need to shop to be happy. Freedom from the use of shopping as therapy or stress relief. Freedom from shopping as a way to connect with others. Freedom from buying to show our love for others. Freedom from sales and holiday madness and malls and huge chain stores and crazy shoppers. Freedom from overuse of resources, from wasted packaging, from wasted fuel to ship all that junk to the store.
Freedom from crap we don’t need.
We are more than consumers. We don’t need to buy gifts to celebrate the holidays with each other — we can get together, make delicious food, go outside and do something fun, play games, talk, tell jokes, tell stories, give hugs.
We are alive, and don’t want to waste the hours we have in chain box stores and malls buying things we don’t really need.
We know that just because stores have massive sales doesn’t mean we need to buy what they’re selling. Sales don’t mean we’re saving money — it means we’re spending it. We used precious life hours earning our money, and we want to use that to live, not buy.
We are free from buying, and free to live.
Join us, and Buy Nothing Until 2013.
OK....ENOUGH!!!!!
I am so sick and tired of hearing all these f*#k'n commercials for Black Friday.
Last time I checked, I was still a Canadian, not an American. I celebrate Thanksgiving when it is supposed to be celebrated...in October not freaking November.
But really what is pissing me off is the unabashed consumerism that is being pushed by retailers. We as Canadians, are following the US when it comes to being the most materialistic society in the world. Think about it, we define our lives by how much stuff we have, to a large degree our personal and business relationships are defined by how much money we make, and even most of the important dates on our calendar are all about materialism. ( spending money on shit we don't need)
Sadly, no matter how big our homes are and no matter how many shiny new toys we accumulate, we never seem to be happy. We always want more, and we always seem to be willing to go into more debt to get it. We are the most materialistic society in the history of the world, and our endless greed is going to end up swallowing us alive.
And yet here we are...allowing ourselves to be lead down the same materialistic path the US is on....why?
Because Canadian retailers are getting wrapped up in this Black Friday and cyber Monday frenzy that is just another tactic employed to get people to spend money that they don't need to spend. No matter how you try to justify it, it is just retailers trying to get you to part with your money on goods that you probably don't really need and to get wrapped up in the spending frenzy that starts with the Christmas season.
So, do yourself a favour, don't allow yourself to get caught up in this greed that is pushed upon you.. put a stop to the indiscriminate buying… .do something nice for yourself, spend time with your family...do anything but buy some useless piece of crap that you will end up regretting..
And remember… you are Canadian….not an American.
Developing the Jumbo Wild area is just WRONG!.
I do not understand why the BC Government is allowing this to continue, given that there are significant environmental issues, not to mention the cultural importance of the area to the Ktunaxa people.It is purely a money motivated scheme that BC politicians are falling all over themselves to pad their own pockets.
THIS IS WRONG…and no amount of money will make it right, we all must speak out and have this stupidity put to an end. This is not just a local issue, this is an environment issue that will effect us all
Jumbo Glacier officially becomes resort municipality
Jim
Bears play an important part in First Nations culture as symbols of strength, hard work, and even great love. Many tribes believe the "Great Spirit" to often take the form of a bear. It would lead hunters on great chases and could die, only to be reborn in the spring. Bears were considered mythical and "magical" creatures.
First Nations use the Great Bear to explain the seasons. It rises up in the spring, waking up the earth and bringing things to life. As summer approaches, The Bear runs across the top of the heavens avoiding hunters; its hot breath flows across the land to make the world hot and sweaty. In August, the bear gets caught by the hunter. The blood of the bear falls to the earth, resulting in showers resulting the leaves changing colors, mainly red and orange. Through the winter, there is no life in the bear and thus the earth is cold and lifeless.
For the First Nations, the bear gave life to the land. The bear was therefore a Mother-symbol and is fiercely protective of its cubs.
And then there were white bears in some places known as spirit bears, they were not Polar Bears, they are gifts of the "Great Spirit" to remind people that they once lived in a land of ice and snow.
But the bear was also a hunter that knew the land. They were quick, big and powerful, and also considered extremely clever; outfighting cougars and wolves. A Native American with the word bear in his name was considered to be an excellent provider as well as a powerful warrior. Bears were not gods, just made by God.
Enjoy the bear…. respect the bear….
Jim
