"Live the questions now..."*

victory

what bargains we have made

we have

kept

and

as the dogs of the hours

close in

nothing

can be taken

from us

but our lives.

Charles Bukowski, The Last Night of the Earth Poems, p. 163, 1992.

Believe it or not, I have been quite busy lately. Busy observing humanity.

Have you ever stood in front of a high street shop and taken the time to study the faces of people passing by?

I have.

Not as an intentional social experiment but per chance. I happened to leave the house before the opening time of the shops and had to wait to purchase one thing or another for my daughter. It's now officially chickenpox season here in Lincolnshire.

You don’t see many people out there with a spring in their step and a smile on their face.

No. Actually there are very few who seem to be content with their lives.

Is this the price humankind has paid for "victory"? Did we overthrow the monarchy for this? Oops, sorry, that hasn't really been done yet in our neck of the woods. I shall rephrase the question in a politically correct manner. Did we adopt democracy for this?

House mortgages, car insurances, bigger refrigerators, larger lawns, loneliness, broken dreams and shattered souls. 

Have you got a job? A house with a garden? “Disposable” income? How many holidays can you afford per year? Are you part of your community? Are you happy? Do you raise your children well? Are you concerned about their education? And their future? Do you drive an electric car?

And if you do, in return for all of this, what value do you generate? Is it tangible?

Can I touch it? Can I smell it? Can I see it? Can I hear it? Can I taste it?

If not, how can you justify its worth? Of all the things you own, which one is more valuable than your time?

Your house? Your car? Your land? Your family, perhaps?

Can you quantify what your life on earth is worth? If someone asked you, how much money your life is worth, what would be the figure you jot down on paper?

Absurd, isn’t it?

Surely no one would dare to ask such a question.

No, they wouldn’t.

And that’s why they aren’t.

Instead, they have decided for you. After all, to ask you to do so would be impolite.

That’s what’s happening day in day out... all around the world.

In war and in peace.

In health and in sickness.

The art of make-believe.

You are in-charge of your destiny.

You, as an adult, are responsible for your choices.

Only you can decide to do good or evil.

Society is great.

Success is for everyone.

The media (right, left, centre), multi-national corporations, business magnates, arms manufacturers, pharmaceuticals, private foundations and charities and dare I say, white-collar workers, all contribute to the perpetuation of the same old lie. 

“Here is a ‘carrot’ and you can have it if you can just jump high enough.”

As long as “carrot” is your thing, their strategy works.

Is “carrot” right for you? I think that is the real question. 

Speaking of carrots, you can now sow them directly into the ground in your garden. That way, you won’t need to buy them wrapped in plastic. 

Speaking of plastic, did you see that packets of vegetables are now labelled as "vegan" in certain supermarkets? 

I really needed someone to point out to me that "rocket" is "vegan".