This morning over breakfast I was catching up on an essay in the Sunday Herald on the subject of consumerism. The writer, whose name eludes me at this late hour, was calling for a return to a less demanding lifestyle, where we rediscover the pleasures of the open air, the countryside and so on. He made the point that the pursuit of possessions rules the lives of far too many people today, and repeated the idea that if everyone on earth made the same demands as us in the West, we'd need three planets to sustain us.I've just had an idyllic day. The weather helped, of course, and we used a car to transport us to the wonderful seaside meadow in the photo - though we could fine have gone on the bus. But the pleasure came from walking in the sunshine among wild flowers, between clumps of sea buckthorn, to the white sand of Ardentinny, and drifting back again after a paddle and a blether (of course). We ignored the nuclear submarine facility on the far shore and concentrated on the heron walking like an aged dominie through the shallows of the outgoing tide, while a blackbird in the tree behind us urged us to go and leave him alone. And it was all free. There wasn't a shop in sight and we didn't have a penny with us - just a bottle of (tap) water.
So the next time I spend money on new walking boots or a new cagoule, I'll remind myself that by so doing I'm saving myself from the further excesses of consumerism. And it would be even cheaper if the sun shone more often as it did today - wouldn't it?
Ah yes...tis the sun's fault for all of the frivolous consummerism, eh? hehehe
ReplyDeleteIt truly is a bright and beautiful day that helps us to enjoy the things that cost nothing. On dark and dreary days spent inside, it is so easy and convenient to find ourselves entertained by our electronic gadgetry that seems to lead to further gadgetry expenditures...and so on! (of course, I may well be blethering on and on from being subjected to an (over)abundance of sunshine and fresh air today!!!)
Mind you the cost of sun protection needs to be taken into account!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the delightful company added to your pleasure! It was a superb day.
ReplyDeleteÇa va sans dire!
ReplyDeleteHello from across the pond, and Di's friend Teresa (or her alias Nat). I was deleting some of my 1,000+ bookmarks and said to myself, "Christine's blog? Christine who?" And here I am.
ReplyDeleteAh, don't we all wish we had such a beautiful place to go to, and we could feel totally safe going to it? Even though the odds are a million to one that something nasty will happen, we American females have to think twice about venturing into secluded areas alone. A dog would help, but my two cats would be no use at all. :)
I had a discussion with a friend many years ago who had embraced the philosophy of "live simply so others can simply live." She was expressing scorn for people who had to have fancy carpeting and furniture. But, I asked, what about the people who support their families by making that carpeting and furniture? Her jaw dropped and she said she'd never thought of that.
I suppose we must strive for some middle ground.