Did I Become Insensitive to the World And How Can I Change That?

It is Christmas Eve day and I awoke at 2:00 in the morning, troubled by the state of the world. In the quiet of my home, I can’t help but wonder – why are there are so many people on the planet who are suffering. One study I read said we have the largest, most unprecedented number of people moving (migrants), with no home or place to call home, on the planet that has ever occurred. Why is this? Why are there so many more homeless people in the U.S.? Why are young school children sleeping under bridges in town? Why?

I have a few ideas.

So many of us want and want and want, without regard to what it means for others. Here is what I have done to try and change the wanting into understanding. If I don’t hog so much, perhaps others can have some too. I need to change selfishness into self-control.

1. I turn down the heat in the house. Utilizing huge amounts of electricity, which impacts the environment, so I can run around the house like it is summer when it is winter outside, has been dramatically stopped during my time on the farm. Warm clothes in my house is a must. Some days, most of my house might be in the low 60s or mid 50s F. I better dress warmly.  One room might get some heat, but that is usually the limit. In the summer, it is the opposite. There is no AC. Better accept the warm nights.
2. I don’t expect to retire. Spending a large swath of my life utilizing resources so I can enjoy myself sounds completely unrealistic and selfish. How could the planet sustain so much “getting”? I have decided – I am hoping to work until I die. If I die of a heart attack at 70, while planting a fruit tree, that is not only acceptable, but desirable.
3. Use it till it wears out, and then use it some more. This is a common theme in my home. I get out the sewing machine and stitch up the clothing falling apart. If I don’t like the idea of people being mistreated in sweat shops, then I best use what I have to the fullest. If I don’t want more air pollution from harvesting and moving cotton, then shipping the fabric, then shipping the garment – if I don’t want to impact the air someone else is trying to breath (only one of the problems of mass transportation), I best make my own clothing from seed to garment, or I better understand and limit my footprint. Mending clothes makes more sense.
4. I don’t take vacations. Trips in my vehicles are limited to needs, not wants. Driving is a huge luxury, so I do my best to limit the time in a car.
5. Even when I am tired, I am often working. I use my physical or mental abilities to think, problem solve, analyze, improve, help… Idleness leads to wastefulness leads to impacting someone else.
6. And there is more I am doing, but I need to get back into bed, so I can get up early and start working.