My daughter has suggested a book on the brain that recommends old people "learn something brand new, like a language" to keep the aging brain in shape. I've decided to learn "organizational skills" Now those of You who know me might find this laughable, but I'm preparing the groundwork for a seachange in lifestyle. I'm using a qualitative approach to the subject:
1. Collect and arrange data
2. Check for emerging themes
3. Write sumnative memos
4. Act on results.
Here's the first memo: Why Change is Necessary.
As a product of my family and my generation, I've prided myself in living life on the edge -- outside the confines and constrictions of society. That doesn't work anymore. For several reasons:
1.. Society has become too repressive. It's simply not possible to rebel against bureaucracy anymore because "they" have cornered "us" into a web of information. "They" have our number -- all of them: medical, credit, videos on youtube, transcripts of every word spoken, yadduh, yadduh.
2. We live in a "new" normal, and ... “In this new normal, with the possibility of terrorist attacks, natural disasters and industrial accidents, we need this culture of preparedness.” This from Russel Honore. (Love the name; reminds me of shopping in Paris before the collapse of the dollar.) As distasteful as it is, it is true. It would be stupid not to be prepared for the worst in a post-9/11 America. We certainly can't rely on the government to swoop in to help.
3. It's no longer cool. It isn't even understood. The younger generation (my students) no longer understands why anyone would want to live off the grid. Breaking rules, finding new rules, living an "authentic" life these things are no longer valued. And even though some people (Hubert and Gary) manage it, as long as I'm a college professor, I have to capitulate to the expectations of the new generation who are obsessed with "making it" in society as it is -- not as it used to be, when "freedom" was a priority.
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