It is more than apparent to me what has happened throughout the course of my life. Since the time I was a child there was a product, television show, mass-produced medical cure all or object to fufill any desire whether carnal or psychological to put my momentary crisis at rest. Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, and questioning authority were the last if not completely non-existant methods of personal descovery to employ. We went to school and my father worked while my mom cleaned the house. When everyone came home, we watched television and that was it. That was life.I don't doubt that there are lots of families out there who may have endeavored to go on bike rides, go camping and tell stories around the fire, but for me and the damn near 100% majority of kids who grew up in my nowhere city the only possible escape from tedium was to buy somthing: Candy, skateboards, movies, video games, etc. This lasted until our later years when the existential crisis began to emerge. The game remained the same but the toys were different: marijuana, cars, guns, zanax pills, heroin, cocaine, computers and computer games. And allthough since these initial realizations I have traveled throughout every possible economic background or mental framework to realize the hidden truths of our world, in my poverty-stricken, drug-addicted nowhere city I can find nobody else to help me type these sentences. They are all dead, in jail, or completely lost in the routine of 9 to 5 living hell..
Now it may be true that many people will claim "comfort" or "satisfaction" when questioned in their cushy apartments, but the vast majority or all my freinds still hate their jobs, the current global situation or even their own boyfreinds/girlfreinds which they live with in said apartments. They don't get upset like I do, because they simply don't know what they are missing or don't care. "How could you not want to visit Canada with me? NYC? California? Europe?" I will often ask. And the answer is always the same, "We cant." Because if they did there bitch ass girlfreind won't like it and will leave them, or they will lose their shitty management position at Bob Evan's or Perkins steakhouse. And jesus, they might not be able to pay for a cushy apartment to keep their television in!
Despite having any of these things I have managed to travel to exotic locations, dance the night away with weirdos, wackos, artists, and anarchists, trip out on free psychedelic vacations, and even find an inner core of people so closely alligned with these ideals and experiences of mine that I consider them family. And I cannot help but look back with astonishment to my high-school freinds who went on to never leave the state, or at best make a once a year pilgrimage one state over, yet they are still "comfortable" and "satisfied".
What a waste I think, to be so cut off from this massive, mind-blowingly huge spinning blue ball and its lifetime of infinite possibilities and experiences. And the only answer I can come to is that they lack the awareness or "consciousness" that their indoor and at-work world has been pre-fabricated by a political-economic system that is locked in an endless handshake...But its okay, they will vote Democrat....
So how do we escape this madness, and adopt the pure freedom and independence from work and authority that secretly we all must crave as part of our natural human disposition? Embrace the unknown, embrace change, and let your heart beat faster as the safety lines are released from your harness and for maybe the first time in your life you feel as if anything could happen, because you have absolutely no idea what is going to come by next. This thrill is called living. The caveman had it when he hunted giant game, the pirates had it when they sailed the seas not knowing if they will ever make it back to land, and I have it everytime I board a greyhound to some new place where multitudes of people I have never known await me. But the payoff isnt in the initial rush, but in the realization that others like you are everywhere and in many cases are not only dying to meet you, but have guess what? A house, a couch, a floor with blankets, a hot meal, or just a memorable conversation to share with you...
The problem is you will never know until you let go.But its not like your doomed to some life of nomadic wondering, unless you want that of course. When people of like minds share resources the amount of anything that each person requires individually descreases exponentially. For example, one of my current projects is a collective house system a few hours north of my current location in front of this computer. By finding only 10 or so people who can afford to find $50 a month to drop on a time-share sort of situation, we can now posess a house with utilities on, and more than enough room for anyones sleeping bag. Of course there are considerations like no drugs kept in the house other than those you wish to consume that night, but with this system a kid working part-time at McDonalds may have more disposable income than some professional-type with a huge apartment and outrageous car payments. Shit...You could even play a guitar on the corner or spange $50 a month.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying there wont be trials on your escape from wage-slavery. You may find yourself not getting along with the people in your collective or house, you may sometimes find yourself taking a bath in an Exxon bathroom with a bar of soap and a rag in the sink, you may even find yourself staying under a bride for the night while waiting for the rain to sibside, or of course, it may just be smooth sailing all the way. The point is you will never even know of the obstacles let alone how to overcome them without embracing the possibility of change in your individual life, of evolution in your life one could say.
Would you like to get started now and don't know where to start? Your freinds, family, or co-workers may not be willing to help, but I am. - pmanarchist@gmail.com
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