The cacophony of everyday life is no more blatantly evident than when the power has gone out and we are left with only silence. ~Me
This past weekend I was a unfortunate (as some would put it) or fortunate (as I would state it) “victim” (isn’t everyone a victim?) of hurricane Irene who seems to have done more damage to inland areas of my location than to the coastal areas, of course not all damage reports are in yet so…
The old adage is true, silence is indeed deafening. And had the silence not been broken by the one fool in the hood that has a generator, it could have also been a small taste of nirvana. You see in no uncertain terms I hate modern civilization, which is sort of a dichotomy when you understand what I do to make it in the world, at least for now.
The finest time I think I have ever had is right now. No power, no noise save the fool neighbor and his generator, living the way our ancestors did as few as 80 years ago. Save the modern convenience of running water, it’s not been all that bad, fact of the matter is it’s been quite enjoyable.
The largest conundrum I have had to overcome in all of this is the odd look or questioning from someone when I mention that it either don’t bother me, or I wish it would stay off forever. There appears to be a normalcy bias in most people’s minds, that states unequivocally “electricity is a must” that it is some variety of “God given right” for people to have power piped directly to their homes to run all of the appliances and especially the idiot box because God forbid we miss American idol or dancing with the has-beens yet again this week due to no power.
I’ve come to the conclusion that while very nice to have its not absolutely necessary at the micro level, the personal level, I understand and whole heartedly agree with the necessity of power at a macro level, to keep the gas pumps on, the stores working etc. but at my level, down here where the peons live, it’s not a necessity. I don’t watch a lot of television anyway, and while my mode of earning an income is dependent on the power being on at the office; it certainly does not need to be on at home. “But what about the refrigerator and freezer” is the hue and cry?
Here is an idea; how about we relearn how to do things the really old school way. Mankind lived for tens of thousands of years without electricity, in fact in the grand scheme of things electricity is relatively new technology. Until just recently in historic terms we lived without power coming out of every wall socket, we canned our food, harvested when we could and put up for the winter, not unlike the ant in the in the parable of the ant and the grasshopper who toiled away to put up sufficient supplies for himself while the grasshopper did nothing.
I know this is getting posted well after Irene, and well after the lights “magically” came back on, in retrospect, they really weren’t necessary. I and those who where her e with me did just fine thank you, although I will admit to the need to mind whatever time piece was handy and still functional so that things could get done while the natural light was still about to be had. Normally I don’t recognize time itself except for the normal social things of arriving at an appointment at some pre-described moment during the day that has been mutually agreed to.
I am daily attempting to voluntarily simplify my life, mini disasters like Irene are just reminders of what stuff we really don’t need.
