Keep it Simple

I was really struck by the simplicity of the Jo/’hansi society. Yes, they squabbled over meat but they didn't have this obsession with consumerism as we do in American society. I talked about this chapter the other night at the dinner table while my father was staying at the house. My father is in the construction business and was speaking about how he sees an ever-growing trend of hoarding in homes he is remodeling. He talks of closets overflowing with unworn clothes to boxes brimming with crafts and knickknacks in every room of his client’s over-sized houses.  

Looking at the Jo/’hansi society they had a “happy combination of an adequate diet and a short workweek.” As a result, they were able to establish relationships and bring value to the relationships. Unlike America, where every moment of the day is scheduled and documented to ensure you maximize your day with stuff, often to impress your boss, the stock holders of a company, or your neighbor next store. In this country, we don’t share a meal with anyone. We practice creative driving skills while navigating an SUV and consuming a value meal. Value as seen as being cheap but the value of time and real love and compassion are often lost in a sea of emails, appointments and to-do lists in America.

As a read about the Jo/’hansi I wondered what type of “curing dance” do we have? What brings our society together? When we have a crisis in our society, we’re usually watching the activity unfold via the television or the internet. We do not participate in the “dance.” It’s someone else’s problem. Yes, if you feel really guilty you may donate a few dollars but are you participating in real reform? Often no, we save this for a select few and often overwork these “dancers” to exhaustion. Our first responder's are at a constant rave dancing and dancing to save society. With that being said, the society doesn't notice or often doesn't care about our first responder's as it’s not a celebrity with immense prestige, wealth or power.

As a society, we continue to divorce ourselves of dealing with our issues and fill the voids with stuff we really don’t need. If we could all just learn to “dance” together, artificial limits would be lifted and our need for consumerism would diminish.