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 "Make" is the penultimate step of the Ten Step journey. It
is the one step that is the most closely aligned to a
philosophical ideal than a practical "thing to do".
Traditional "greens" earn their wishy-washy, tree-hugging,
reputation precisely from this rejection of so called
"material" values. Instead they turn to "spiritual" values
to fill the void - this immediately alienates a large
portion of the Post-Carbon community. Those in to Post-Carbon Living are
sensible folks who want concrete solutions.
So what is this all about? Is it possible to reject
materialism without embracing spiritualism? Absolutely!
Spiritualism is a purely personal and subjective field that
we leave to the individual to decide. It is a matter of
conscience but it is not a solution to material problems
other than as a diversion from normal needs and w ants.
"Make" covers a variety of concepts around a central idea
that we must take responsibility for meeting our own
requirements and ensuring our own security. Filling our time
with this activity is in itself fulfilling and replaces some
of the things we use to think we needed from others.
This requirement is a theme throughout the ten steps. Let us
make "Make" the roundup of any topics that fall outside of
the other nine steps. This address's our
rejection of disposability in society. Just as we reject
Globalisation for Localisation and Resource Depletion for
Sustainability we must also embrace the things we make
ourselves and cast out our non-essential dependence upon
others (apart from our families and community).
This can manifest itself in the modern world as how we use
our spare time. If you can only count your hobbies as
shopping and watching Television then you have a long, long
journey ahead of you. Be warned! This is not for the
feint-hearted. It is very much a plague of our times that
our 'spare' time is filled with quite empty and meaningless
'activity' that wastes our time.
 As we live in a time of plenty (the calm before the storm)
this is no immediate need to suddenly learn how to weave
baskets but we must implore people to develop a side of
their personality that lies dormant. It is dormant in our
modern world because it represents a set of values that have
been so belittled and undermined that they are largely
meaningless to most of the population. Indeed, never has the
phrase "bread and circuses" meant as much to our western
civilisation. Our entire culture is orientated around
worshipping trivia and making little of important skills.
These skills are:
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Being able to make
something
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Being able to save
up money
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Geting out of debt
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Non-addiction
to consumerism
-
Surviving with less
These are not "trendy" and they are not "cool". This is
detoxification. This is unhooking yourself from the Consumer
society and re-aligning your goals and value-system. Power
Elites and Governments have no interest in individuals who
are not addicted to the system and they will encourage you
to forsake these basic skills. Learn otherwise.... |
