I love that he says that he gets obsessed with fickle things like this and ends up hurting himself in the process which is a thing that I can safely say I do a lot. I can easily relate to this.
Then he goes onto the "Soon," he said, "we will all be dead." quote from the Zen master and the story about his daughter getting really sick in Italy on pages 144 and 145. This was heart wrenching and heart warming at the same time, knowing that she was so sick and then finding out that she was alive. He pulled a lot of empathy from me because when anyone is sick, I want to help them.
Then he saddened and terrified me (us?) on page147 with the prospect that by 2050, there will be only 1 billion people in the developed world, and 8 billion would be undeveloped. That was rather depressing and it made me want to change things in the economic and ecologic worlds.
I love the Buddha quote that he brought in about the extremes of hedonism and asceticism and how we should try to live in the middle on page 149.
On page 151 he brings in a very interesting and very intelligent and probable idea of selling services. This would be wonderful because it not only would lessen manufacturing and manufacturing costs, it would also use far less materials than would be used now to make fewer products. That would be wonderful.
One of my favorite parts of chapter 7 is the quote by Michelle:
What were really doing is taking apart our whole life. Instead of just living the way of life we've inherited and been told to lead, we're taking it all apart and seeing how we want to put it back together. It's not that we'll never use it again. It's that we're doing this yearlong experiment in order to decide if we will. (154,155)
It sums up the entire project very nicely and explains it in a very simple terms. It shows that it doesn't just impact their life, it is completely ripping the rug out from under their feet and making them start fresh for a year. They have to completely remake their life in a new way and then decide what to implement of their old life when the project finishes.
Then he goes on to say that he loves buying second hand items because of the sense of history and the story behind them, like how the rocking chair belonged to some child named Miles and it was probably well loved and enjoyed. And just re-using clothes because of the story each article of clothing tells.
The idea of groundlessness is a very simple, yet very profound topic that is exactly what life is. We never know what's going to happen and we are all just as confused as everyone else.
And then there was the news and other people. I love the surge of viewers that being in the New York Times inspired, but I hate how they downplayed his project so much.
I love that he is "having a blast" defining his own life.
Then he brought up the indecisiveness of Congress and it made me somewhat irritated that our leaders are stalling so much on environmental issues as important as they are. I think they need to get a move on and decide on regulations that work for everyone. They should try Dae Soen Sa Nim's method.
I also agree that we should try to change more than just the government, we should try to slowly change the culture. But it should be a step by step process to ease the culture into more environmentally friendly actions.
I love the point that his friend Mayer makes. But wars are also fought over resources and land, so if more land was protected and flourishing, there would be more resources and possible less war.
The Rickshaw was amazing and I love the George Bliss for making him a Rickshaw out of recycled parts.
I love the end of this chapter that makes me feel like a better person and makes Colin and Michelle seem even more human. The fact that they admit that they couldn't wash their clothes by hand with a toddler and that they needed coffee made me smile.
As I read these two chapters, I was making many connections to my own life. For example, when Beavan says "The danger, for me, is that I get attached to goals like these, find out that I've used up my limited time in this life on something…that is essentially meaningless" (143), I started to question my own goals. Is it meaningless and pointless to spend so much time on my homework? I decided that I should definitely study hard, but if one grade is bad, it is not that important compared to my relationships. So, I am planning on not getting bogged down and obsessing over my schoolwork.
I also started thinking about the likelihood of the US and Western Europe reducing our emissions and helping other, underdeveloped countries do the same. Unfortunately, I doubt the US will help the other nations. There are so many other problems, like human trafficking, starvation, war, and drugs, that seem more pressing. These problems pose an imminent danger that is tangible, where we can jail a perpetrator. Therefore, these issues seem easier to fix and better to act on since we know what must be done. With reducing emissions, we know we need to reduce them, but we don't know how to fund the projects needed to achieve that goal.
Lastly, Beavan's comment about technology being "designed obsolescence" (150) made me think of Mr. Tumelaire's class. He often talked about computers being the perfect tool for capitalism because they become outdated very quickly. People buy a new iPhone or Droid, even though their Chocolate phone and flip phone work, because they have touch screens, internet access, and look cooler. This makes me think of Chapters 1 and 2, after which I asked how far is too far with technology and progress. Does progress mean technological advancement and more machinery? We need to find a way to turn the inventors' focuses from computers and phones to drilling wells in underdeveloped nations. The problem is: how can we make it worth the inventors efforts? Those nations cannot pay for the wells themselves and the US and Western Europe are in recessions as well.
After reading these next two chapters of No Impact Man, I felt like I was thinking very “all or nothing.” In these two chapters, the reader gets to see Beavan transform into a more lenient person. I felt that near the beginning of the book, Beavan was more invested in completely no impact on the planet. Now, he is more lenient and willing to use a washing machine, buy used clothes, and drink coffee. However, when he allows himself to do all of these things, I just continue feeling frustrated with him. He decided to take on a big project, and I want him to follow through. I want to believe that someone, somewhere can have no impact on the planet, but I just end up finding flaws in his project.
This excerpt is the part of chapter 8 that made me the angriest: “What does happen is that after she pukes all over her bed and we change her sheets, she pukes again, and now two sets of sheets and pajamas are done for. And I simply can’t bring myself to wash this mountain of laundry by hand. I feel like a failure, but I use the machine down in the basement of our building” (190). After reading it, I feel just as he does, like he failed. The worst part is that he accepts that a washing machine is more convenient and decides to use it from now on. He says that “there is a level of resource use below which people cannot and will not voluntarily go or stay in order to save the planet,” (190) which is true, but he is not just anyone. He is “No Impact Man,” and so he should be willing to do what others will not. Near the beginning of the book, he admits that the name he gives himself, “No Impact Man,” is somewhat like a superhero name. I believe that in taking this name, he needs try to be this superhero that he makes himself out to be and prove to all humans that no impact is possible. I want to be able to believe in his project and the ability to have no impact on Earth, but for me to do this, Beavan needs to prove himself and not give in so easily to the temptation of convenience because if a superhero gives in, how can we ordinary people not also give in?
In these chapters, one line that Colin wrote really resonated with me. He says that “it’s [life] for grabbing on to the equally confused soul standing next to you and working together to help each other get through it.” His realization of what living is all about came from standing in the streets with strangers on 9/11 and feeling a connection with them. That connection is based on something indefinable. As a seventeen-year-old girl, I am eagerly waiting the day I graduate, the day I start college, the experience of making a living, starting a family, the list goes on. Colin really made me wonder about what I am living life for and how I’m doing it. I realized that my goals and anticipations in life all focus on myself and my own achievements. I don’t want that. I don’t want to be alone on the path of life. Later on in that chapter, Michelle reveals that shopping, watching TV, reading books and magazines were all escapes from her fear of the bad. She doesn’t want to face the fact that the people she loves will sometimes hurt, they will sometimes be hurt. I feel like I could really relate to not only Colin, but also Michelle. They are real people, with real worries. Colin beautifully paints an image of the world and how Americans reacted on 9/11. I love his views on life and I agree with his statement that we all are in it together and that the point in life is to work through it together. No one is alone.
Should we care what other people think? Sometimes it can be healthy and motivational but other times it can subtract from what you're trying to accomplish. On page 160, Colin becomes aware of the fact that he is afraid of not accomplishing his goal -- afraid of letting everyone else down. He wonders what people would think if he broke the rules and started buying newspapers and taking taxis. He wonders, "What he would I say in the blog? What would they show in the documentary?" It seems that the approval of others has become a motivation of sorts. But shouldn't he have the mentality of Michelle? She sees this project as a way to purge herself of things that are unnecessary and not conducive to a happy (whatever that is) lifestyle.
If the idea of saving the Earth is too broad for some people to grasp, one way to motivate people might be reminding them that the personal benefits are also very rewarding. "By giving up her own addictions [Michelle] had found new benefits: she'd lost weight…and we weren't spending money in ways we couldn't afford" (153).
So maybe this is a new angle that we should try when it comes to saving the world: make it personal.
On page 154 and 155, Michelle says “What we’re really doing is taking apart our whole life. Instead of just living the way of life we’ve inherited and been told to lead, we’re taking it all apart and seeing how we want to put it back together.” I love this statement. The Beavans preformed this “dissection” on their lives in order to see what is actually doable. After their year of living with no impact, the Beavans were able to keep the changes that were practical and made them happier. This questioning and changing of the life they lived for so many years led them to find a better way of life that worked for their family. Sometimes we get stuck in the way of life we’ve always been told is right. It is truly important to take apart our lives every once in awhile and figure out why we do the things we do and if we really want to continue those practices. We should not believe everything we’ve been taught and we shouldn’t do something just because it’s what society says is normal. We need to question everything. In an early blog post I wrote that I did not believe I would be happier if I were to give up my consumerism. I said that society has told me all my life that the more stuff I have the happier I will be, but why should I let society tell me what makes me happy? I am going to try and view our no impact week as a small dissection of my own life. I want to pick out the parts that worked for me, the parts that are doable, and the parts that made me truly happy and then see how I want to put my life back together.
Several things stood out to me in these chapters because they made me think about why people do what they do. The passages regarding advertising and consumerism made me think about TV. When Beavan says "We're too busy for love because we're working to get the stuff that the ads say will bring us love." (157) it made me think about American Idol. Idol, in its 10 seasons, has turned ordinary people into stars. Viewers vote for the person they love the best, while the loser is voted off. Why do people watch it? The same reason they try out: They want people to love them. They want to be The American Idol. Why else would Coke and Ford, very American companies, sponsor it so much?
My favorite part of this was Beavan's search for "stuff with a story." I loved his stories about Freecycle and Miles because they made me feel like I knew him more. It made me wonder about what he does now. Has he stopped thrift store shopping? Does he turn off his TV (if he has one) now that the project's over?
Miles made me think about children's toys. Isabella's favorite things mentioned in the book have been Miles, her diapers, and her fancy dress-up shoes. Why do people buy their children crazy electronic toys? Do children just want dress-up shoes? I love Isabella's influence because she makes me think about what people really want.
I feel like in 7 and 8, Beavan has a few contradictory moments. And I want to leave room for human error; obviously, there’s no way to go through this whole thing without mess-ups. But I‘ve had a building feeling that we were making a vague equation for happiness, and more specifically what blurs our vision of the deeper meaning in life. He’s shown a new way of looking at our short sightedness. And paints the “consumer circle” picture often. “The reason we need love is because we’re working so hard so that we can buy stuff. We’re too busy for love because we’re working to get the stuff that the ads say will bring us love.” We’re just running in circles chasing our tails. We won’t be able to grab them, and as we get closer, the gap always grows a little more. So I get that and I agree. And same with this: “ To understand what this life’s for: it’s for grabbing on to the equally confused soul standing next to you and working together” but then he throws these words out there and I’m left baffled, “ to help each other get through it.” What’s that about? This took me back a step. I just don’t understand how all of a sudden we’ve switched from bettering out lives, to struggling through to the finish line. I think he’s contradicting all he seemed to work for in the book.
The rest of the two chapters seem to flow with all he’s been enforcing. He pushes the reader to question what society does. I’ve realized how caught up in societal ways we all get, that we never step back to see what we’re really doing. And especially, how it’s affecting others. We live in a selfish society that says no harm in pushing others down to reach the top. Wrong, I want to force myself to jump out of the flow, and question.
“Now there are a lot of stories we tell ourselves to try to make sense of what we don’t know. We tell ourselves religious stories and family stories and success stories…because we don’t trust that we’ll do the right thing if we simply accept the groundlessness of not knowing” (161).
These statements really stood out to me because I disagree with what I believe Beavan is saying. From what I can tell from this paragraph on page 161, Beavan believes that people rely on stories to fill the void of not knowing all the unanswered questions in life. In my opinion, Beavan is downplaying the importance of stories. Stories are not just myths used to explain to children where the rain comes from. To me, they are a major part of my life, who I am, and what I believe.
I believe that the majority of people accept the fact that not everything can be known. I do not agree that the purpose of (religious) stories is to fill those unanswered questions. In my opinion, religious stories explain the unknown.
“What will happen when we die? We don’t know why we were created, or who created us, or anything” (161). Beavan might not know the answers to these questions – but I, and the billions of people of various faiths around the world, do. I know these answers because of the stories that Beavan seems to think are merely ways to temporarily avoid “groundlessness.”
Like many people after 9/11, I don’t know why tragedies happen or why people like Bin Laden exist. But I can piece together those things that aren’t directly known. I can look back at family stories to piece together where I come from and success stories to piece together how I will go about my future.
When Beavan is at the Housing Works Thrift Shop, he finds the rocking horse, Miles. He says, "Instead of feeling grubby, as I might have expected, like the used rocking horse is somehow grubby, I found myself imagining it to be alive with history…I feel more warmth about this gift for Isabella than I would about something plastic and anonymous from the toy store. (155)" I was really able to connect with this statement, because this is exactly how I have felt about this for a while. For the past year, my major purchases have been products that were previously owned by someone else. Although the lower prices and recycling of materials is nice, that's not the main reason why I've been doing this. The main reason is simply that I like knowing that whatever it is I now own was once owned and loved by someone else. For example, I buy a lot of my clothes at Goodwill for this reason (and because I love finding vintage clothing there.) I am able to feel connected to others who I will never know simply because I can imagine that maybe they wore that certain sweater to a party or something that was important to them. My favorite used clothing is probably a prom dress that someone wore in the 80s. I love it because I can imagine the history behind that girl getting ready for prom, meeting up with her date, and then having a great time at the actual prom, and, even though I'll never know her true story, I feel like I can connect with her through that dress. Also, it is even more special for me when I know the history of the object I own. For example, my grandfather, who knows I love photography, recently gave me his Polaroid SX-70 camera from the 70's. He told me stories about how he took the camera on certain family trips and about how much my dad loved the camera as a little boy. I can feel a connection to my family's past through objects that they once used. I think Beavan is right to believe that such gifts and objects are much more meaningful than something new that has no history. Without this history, whether we know the true story or not, we can't have the same connection to the past through our objects.
I completely agree with Bronte when she writes about her disappointment in Beavan when he uses the washing machine. I do see Beavan as a sort of superhero figure and I was disappointed and let down when he broke down to use the washing machine. Washing Isabella's sheets seems like such a simple task, so why would be chose that to break the rules on? If he was going to break the rules, I would have rather him do it because of something that couldn't be avoided, like using electricity to keep Isabella's milk cold. I know that if it was me doing the project, breaking the rules for something as simple as washing sheets would make me feel like I had failed.
I have been looking for more personal stories and situations instead of statistics throughout No Impact Man and, Beavan's story about Isabella getting sick was exactly what I was looking for. This story brought out extreme personal and private feelings in Beavan and it was refreshing to have him be so open with us.
"All the ads say the same thing: You suck, but if you buy this, you won't, and then everyone will love you" (157). I've always known that advertising agencies are only concerned with selling their products, they do not care about anything else. But, this statement made me realize the true goal of advertising, to make us believe that there is always a "next best thing." We are never able to feel completely satisfied with ourselves because we are always lookng for more. For me personally, I know I have a problem with always wanting a new phone. I'm always perfectly happy with my phone when I get a new one, but once I start seeing other people with Iphones or Droids or any phone that seems nicer than mine, I begin to feel that mine is inadequate, when in reality, my phone does exactly what I need it to do, call people when I need to. I don't need a phone with internet because I already have a computer which does that for me. Personally, I need to learn that I already have enough. I have to learn to separate my needs from my wants. Because when it really comes down to it, I may not have all I want, but I have everything that I need.
For me, the most powerful passage in these two chapters is on page 144:
"When your blog is ranked number 2,000 in the entire world and you're still not happy, your brain tells you you'll be happy when you get to number 1,000. When you're a Silicon Valley millionaire and you're not happy, you brain tells you it's just a matter of buckling down and becoming a billionaire."
We, as human beings, always keep looking up to the next level. We always reach for the next step. Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that having high expectations for ourselves is a bad thing. It actually makes you a more confident and motivated person. However, I believe that when you think that the next level is going to bring you permanent happiness and you're so hungry for it that you overlook all the things you have presently, it can be unhealthy and unsatisfying. There are constantly going to be people that are better, smarter, and richer than you, but that doesn't necessarily make them happier.
I can apply this to my life too. Right now, I am constantly thinking that if I get to go to my dream college, I will be the happiest person in the world and my whole life will be set. Or, if I get an A on my next statistics test, I will have best day ever. By doing this, I overlook the fact that I made an A on my last physics test or that I am attending one of the best schools (if not the best school) in Chattanooga. Of course I sill want to get to go to my dream school and I still want to make an A on that next test. But I need to realize that it won't bring me permanent happiness.
As I was reading these chapters I found my mind wandering because of some of the things he said. I thought about the statement that Suzzane talked about, "We're too busy for love because we're working to get the stuff that the ads say will bring us love." (157). I thought a lot about love and stuff. I think that we work to get stuff and we work to get love but to me, its not the same work. I work to get love by spending time with people and helping them and sharing things with them. I work to get stuff by getting good grades so that my parents will give me money so I can buy stuff. I don't think that these two kinds of work are the same. I think they are two completely different ways of doing things. One way can hurt the enviornment and one way does nothing but help me and others. When I know someone loves me I am happy and that kind of happy lasts a lot longer then the happiness I feel when I buy a new shirt or movie. These chapters made me think we shouldn't only work for one kind of love (stuff) but find a happy medium by working for all kinds of love and happiness. For example, the happiness you feel when you succeed, when you feel loved, when you buy new things, and when you do something for yourself. I think that if you find a happy medium between all of these things, you will find happiness in all of them.
Something struck a chord with me in these chapters. Beavan immediately opens the chapter in the second paragraph with “here in the United State, to be a good citizen is to be an aggressive consumer. To be patriotic is to shop.” Unfortunately, I believe he is correct and that this is the case in this country. For example, the theory for tax cuts boosting the economy is that a person who experiences a tax cut will take the money he or she would have paid to the government and spend it in the economy on goods. The country relies on people buying stuff. On page 150 Beavan points out the system of trickery to keep this purchasing going forever. He says, “Designed obsolescence. Manufacturers began looking for ways to deliberately cause their own products to become obsolete so people would have to but them again and again- repetitive consumption.” Reading this angered me. Not at Beavan, but at the people who make the products I use. Why can they not make a reliable product to be used for as long as possible? Does no body else see the crisis happening in the environment and want to help reduce the materials used in the products we create?
These two chapters made me question who I am and what I try to accomplish more than any of the other ones so far.
Beavan talked about his fear that he is wasting his time. "The danger, for me, is that I get attached to goals like these, find out that I've used up my limited time in this life on something that is essentially meaningless" (Page 143)
This really made me think about all of the things I am worrying about now. What is actually important? I am about to go to college and I have been spending so much time with my friends and schoolwork and hardly any time with my family. I know I am going to be leaving my friends soon too, but I am also about to leave my family and never come back to live with them. It scares me that I am doing all of these things that may be wasting my time. What am I going to look back and be thankful that I did?
This is really what I think Beavan was wanting us to feel. This book was supposed to make us think about things the same way he began this project and through the possibly most powerful way for us to think about things: through fear. I am afraid of a lot of the things that he talks about and it really makes me question myself and what I believe in. I definitely think this is a good thing, but it is kind of upsetting that Beavan has to do this through fear.
I love how human he is in these chapters.
ReplyDeleteI love that he says that he gets obsessed with fickle things like this and ends up hurting himself in the process which is a thing that I can safely say I do a lot. I can easily relate to this.
Then he goes onto the "Soon," he said, "we will all be dead." quote from the Zen master and the story about his daughter getting really sick in Italy on pages 144 and 145. This was heart wrenching and heart warming at the same time, knowing that she was so sick and then finding out that she was alive. He pulled a lot of empathy from me because when anyone is sick, I want to help them.
Then he saddened and terrified me (us?) on page147 with the prospect that by 2050, there will be only 1 billion people in the developed world, and 8 billion would be undeveloped. That was rather depressing and it made me want to change things in the economic and ecologic worlds.
I love the Buddha quote that he brought in about the extremes of hedonism and asceticism and how we should try to live in the middle on page 149.
On page 151 he brings in a very interesting and very intelligent and probable idea of selling services. This would be wonderful because it not only would lessen manufacturing and manufacturing costs, it would also use far less materials than would be used now to make fewer products. That would be wonderful.
One of my favorite parts of chapter 7 is the quote by Michelle:
What were really doing is taking apart our whole life. Instead of just living the way of life we've inherited and been told to lead, we're taking it all apart and seeing how we want to put it back together. It's not that we'll never use it again. It's that we're doing this yearlong experiment in order to decide if we will. (154,155)
It sums up the entire project very nicely and explains it in a very simple terms. It shows that it doesn't just impact their life, it is completely ripping the rug out from under their feet and making them start fresh for a year. They have to completely remake their life in a new way and then decide what to implement of their old life when the project finishes.
Then he goes on to say that he loves buying second hand items because of the sense of history and the story behind them, like how the rocking chair belonged to some child named Miles and it was probably well loved and enjoyed. And just re-using clothes because of the story each article of clothing tells.
The idea of groundlessness is a very simple, yet very profound topic that is exactly what life is. We never know what's going to happen and we are all just as confused as everyone else.
And then there was the news and other people. I love the surge of viewers that being in the New York Times inspired, but I hate how they downplayed his project so much.
I love that he is "having a blast" defining his own life.
Then he brought up the indecisiveness of Congress and it made me somewhat irritated that our leaders are stalling so much on environmental issues as important as they are. I think they need to get a move on and decide on regulations that work for everyone. They should try Dae Soen Sa Nim's method.
I also agree that we should try to change more than just the government, we should try to slowly change the culture. But it should be a step by step process to ease the culture into more environmentally friendly actions.
I love the point that his friend Mayer makes. But wars are also fought over resources and land, so if more land was protected and flourishing, there would be more resources and possible less war.
The Rickshaw was amazing and I love the George Bliss for making him a Rickshaw out of recycled parts.
I love the end of this chapter that makes me feel like a better person and makes Colin and Michelle seem even more human. The fact that they admit that they couldn't wash their clothes by hand with a toddler and that they needed coffee made me smile.
As I read these two chapters, I was making many connections to my own life. For example, when Beavan says "The danger, for me, is that I get attached to goals like these, find out that I've used up my limited time in this life on something…that is essentially meaningless" (143), I started to question my own goals. Is it meaningless and pointless to spend so much time on my homework? I decided that I should definitely study hard, but if one grade is bad, it is not that important compared to my relationships. So, I am planning on not getting bogged down and obsessing over my schoolwork.
ReplyDeleteI also started thinking about the likelihood of the US and Western Europe reducing our emissions and helping other, underdeveloped countries do the same. Unfortunately, I doubt the US will help the other nations. There are so many other problems, like human trafficking, starvation, war, and drugs, that seem more pressing. These problems pose an imminent danger that is tangible, where we can jail a perpetrator. Therefore, these issues seem easier to fix and better to act on since we know what must be done. With reducing emissions, we know we need to reduce them, but we don't know how to fund the projects needed to achieve that goal.
Lastly, Beavan's comment about technology being "designed obsolescence" (150) made me think of Mr. Tumelaire's class. He often talked about computers being the perfect tool for capitalism because they become outdated very quickly. People buy a new iPhone or Droid, even though their Chocolate phone and flip phone work, because they have touch screens, internet access, and look cooler. This makes me think of Chapters 1 and 2, after which I asked how far is too far with technology and progress. Does progress mean technological advancement and more machinery? We need to find a way to turn the inventors' focuses from computers and phones to drilling wells in underdeveloped nations. The problem is: how can we make it worth the inventors efforts? Those nations cannot pay for the wells themselves and the US and Western Europe are in recessions as well.
After reading these next two chapters of No Impact Man, I felt like I was thinking very “all or nothing.” In these two chapters, the reader gets to see Beavan transform into a more lenient person. I felt that near the beginning of the book, Beavan was more invested in completely no impact on the planet. Now, he is more lenient and willing to use a washing machine, buy used clothes, and drink coffee. However, when he allows himself to do all of these things, I just continue feeling frustrated with him. He decided to take on a big project, and I want him to follow through. I want to believe that someone, somewhere can have no impact on the planet, but I just end up finding flaws in his project.
ReplyDeleteThis excerpt is the part of chapter 8 that made me the angriest: “What does happen is that after she pukes all over her bed and we change her sheets, she pukes again, and now two sets of sheets and pajamas are done for. And I simply can’t bring myself to wash this mountain of laundry by hand. I feel like a failure, but I use the machine down in the basement of our building” (190). After reading it, I feel just as he does, like he failed. The worst part is that he accepts that a washing machine is more convenient and decides to use it from now on. He says that “there is a level of resource use below which people cannot and will not voluntarily go or stay in order to save the planet,” (190) which is true, but he is not just anyone. He is “No Impact Man,” and so he should be willing to do what others will not. Near the beginning of the book, he admits that the name he gives himself, “No Impact Man,” is somewhat like a superhero name. I believe that in taking this name, he needs try to be this superhero that he makes himself out to be and prove to all humans that no impact is possible. I want to be able to believe in his project and the ability to have no impact on Earth, but for me to do this, Beavan needs to prove himself and not give in so easily to the temptation of convenience because if a superhero gives in, how can we ordinary people not also give in?
In these chapters, one line that Colin wrote really resonated with me. He says that “it’s [life] for grabbing on to the equally confused soul standing next to you and working together to help each other get through it.” His realization of what living is all about came from standing in the streets with strangers on 9/11 and feeling a connection with them. That connection is based on something indefinable.
ReplyDeleteAs a seventeen-year-old girl, I am eagerly waiting the day I graduate, the day I start college, the experience of making a living, starting a family, the list goes on. Colin really made me wonder about what I am living life for and how I’m doing it. I realized that my goals and anticipations in life all focus on myself and my own achievements. I don’t want that. I don’t want to be alone on the path of life.
Later on in that chapter, Michelle reveals that shopping, watching TV, reading books and magazines were all escapes from her fear of the bad. She doesn’t want to face the fact that the people she loves will sometimes hurt, they will sometimes be hurt. I feel like I could really relate to not only Colin, but also Michelle. They are real people, with real worries. Colin beautifully paints an image of the world and how Americans reacted on 9/11.
I love his views on life and I agree with his statement that we all are in it together and that the point in life is to work through it together. No one is alone.
Should we care what other people think? Sometimes it can be healthy and motivational but other times it can subtract from what you're trying to accomplish. On page 160, Colin becomes aware of the fact that he is afraid of not accomplishing his goal -- afraid of letting everyone else down. He wonders what people would think if he broke the rules and started buying newspapers and taking taxis. He wonders, "What he would I say in the blog? What would they show in the documentary?" It seems that the approval of others has become a motivation of sorts. But shouldn't he have the mentality of Michelle? She sees this project as a way to purge herself of things that are unnecessary and not conducive to a happy (whatever that is) lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteIf the idea of saving the Earth is too broad for some people to grasp, one way to motivate people might be reminding them that the personal benefits are also very rewarding. "By giving up her own addictions [Michelle] had found new benefits: she'd lost weight…and we weren't spending money in ways we couldn't afford" (153).
So maybe this is a new angle that we should try when it comes to saving the world: make it personal.
On page 154 and 155, Michelle says “What we’re really doing is taking apart our whole life. Instead of just living the way of life we’ve inherited and been told to lead, we’re taking it all apart and seeing how we want to put it back together.” I love this statement. The Beavans preformed this “dissection” on their lives in order to see what is actually doable. After their year of living with no impact, the Beavans were able to keep the changes that were practical and made them happier. This questioning and changing of the life they lived for so many years led them to find a better way of life that worked for their family.
ReplyDeleteSometimes we get stuck in the way of life we’ve always been told is right. It is truly important to take apart our lives every once in awhile and figure out why we do the things we do and if we really want to continue those practices. We should not believe everything we’ve been taught and we shouldn’t do something just because it’s what society says is normal. We need to question everything. In an early blog post I wrote that I did not believe I would be happier if I were to give up my consumerism. I said that society has told me all my life that the more stuff I have the happier I will be, but why should I let society tell me what makes me happy?
I am going to try and view our no impact week as a small dissection of my own life. I want to pick out the parts that worked for me, the parts that are doable, and the parts that made me truly happy and then see how I want to put my life back together.
Several things stood out to me in these chapters because they made me think about why people do what they do.
ReplyDeleteThe passages regarding advertising and consumerism made me think about TV. When Beavan says "We're too busy for love because we're working to get the stuff that the ads say will bring us love." (157) it made me think about American Idol. Idol, in its 10 seasons, has turned ordinary people into stars. Viewers vote for the person they love the best, while the loser is voted off. Why do people watch it? The same reason they try out: They want people to love them. They want to be The American Idol. Why else would Coke and Ford, very American companies, sponsor it so much?
My favorite part of this was Beavan's search for "stuff with a story." I loved his stories about Freecycle and Miles because they made me feel like I knew him more. It made me wonder about what he does now. Has he stopped thrift store shopping? Does he turn off his TV (if he has one) now that the project's over?
Miles made me think about children's toys. Isabella's favorite things mentioned in the book have been Miles, her diapers, and her fancy dress-up shoes. Why do people buy their children crazy electronic toys? Do children just want dress-up shoes? I love Isabella's influence because she makes me think about what people really want.
I feel like in 7 and 8, Beavan has a few contradictory moments. And I want to leave room for human error; obviously, there’s no way to go through this whole thing without mess-ups. But I‘ve had a building feeling that we were making a vague equation for happiness, and more specifically what blurs our vision of the deeper meaning in life. He’s shown a new way of looking at our short sightedness. And paints the “consumer circle” picture often. “The reason we need love is because we’re working so hard so that we can buy stuff. We’re too busy for love because we’re working to get the stuff that the ads say will bring us love.” We’re just running in circles chasing our tails. We won’t be able to grab them, and as we get closer, the gap always grows a little more. So I get that and I agree. And same with this: “ To understand what this life’s for: it’s for grabbing on to the equally confused soul standing next to you and working together” but then he throws these words out there and I’m left baffled, “ to help each other get through it.” What’s that about? This took me back a step. I just don’t understand how all of a sudden we’ve switched from bettering out lives, to struggling through to the finish line. I think he’s contradicting all he seemed to work for in the book.
ReplyDeleteThe rest of the two chapters seem to flow with all he’s been enforcing. He pushes the reader to question what society does. I’ve realized how caught up in societal ways we all get, that we never step back to see what we’re really doing. And especially, how it’s affecting others. We live in a selfish society that says no harm in pushing others down to reach the top. Wrong, I want to force myself to jump out of the flow, and question.
“Now there are a lot of stories we tell ourselves to try to make sense of what we don’t know. We tell ourselves religious stories and family stories and success stories…because we don’t trust that we’ll do the right thing if we simply accept the groundlessness of not knowing” (161).
ReplyDeleteThese statements really stood out to me because I disagree with what I believe Beavan is saying. From what I can tell from this paragraph on page 161, Beavan believes that people rely on stories to fill the void of not knowing all the unanswered questions in life. In my opinion, Beavan is downplaying the importance of stories. Stories are not just myths used to explain to children where the rain comes from. To me, they are a major part of my life, who I am, and what I believe.
I believe that the majority of people accept the fact that not everything can be known. I do not agree that the purpose of (religious) stories is to fill those unanswered questions. In my opinion, religious stories explain the unknown.
“What will happen when we die? We don’t know why we were created, or who created us, or anything” (161). Beavan might not know the answers to these questions – but I, and the billions of people of various faiths around the world, do. I know these answers because of the stories that Beavan seems to think are merely ways to temporarily avoid “groundlessness.”
Like many people after 9/11, I don’t know why tragedies happen or why people like Bin Laden exist. But I can piece together those things that aren’t directly known. I can look back at family stories to piece together where I come from and success stories to piece together how I will go about my future.
When Beavan is at the Housing Works Thrift Shop, he finds the rocking horse, Miles. He says, "Instead of feeling grubby, as I might have expected, like the used rocking horse is somehow grubby, I found myself imagining it to be alive with history…I feel more warmth about this gift for Isabella than I would about something plastic and anonymous from the toy store. (155)" I was really able to connect with this statement, because this is exactly how I have felt about this for a while.
ReplyDeleteFor the past year, my major purchases have been products that were previously owned by someone else. Although the lower prices and recycling of materials is nice, that's not the main reason why I've been doing this. The main reason is simply that I like knowing that whatever it is I now own was once owned and loved by someone else. For example, I buy a lot of my clothes at Goodwill for this reason (and because I love finding vintage clothing there.) I am able to feel connected to others who I will never know simply because I can imagine that maybe they wore that certain sweater to a party or something that was important to them. My favorite used clothing is probably a prom dress that someone wore in the 80s. I love it because I can imagine the history behind that girl getting ready for prom, meeting up with her date, and then having a great time at the actual prom, and, even though I'll never know her true story, I feel like I can connect with her through that dress.
Also, it is even more special for me when I know the history of the object I own. For example, my grandfather, who knows I love photography, recently gave me his Polaroid SX-70 camera from the 70's. He told me stories about how he took the camera on certain family trips and about how much my dad loved the camera as a little boy. I can feel a connection to my family's past through objects that they once used.
I think Beavan is right to believe that such gifts and objects are much more meaningful than something new that has no history. Without this history, whether we know the true story or not, we can't have the same connection to the past through our objects.
I completely agree with Bronte when she writes about her disappointment in Beavan when he uses the washing machine. I do see Beavan as a sort of superhero figure and I was disappointed and let down when he broke down to use the washing machine. Washing Isabella's sheets seems like such a simple task, so why would be chose that to break the rules on? If he was going to break the rules, I would have rather him do it because of something that couldn't be avoided, like using electricity to keep Isabella's milk cold. I know that if it was me doing the project, breaking the rules for something as simple as washing sheets would make me feel like I had failed.
ReplyDeleteI have been looking for more personal stories and situations instead of statistics throughout No Impact Man and, Beavan's story about Isabella getting sick was exactly what I was looking for. This story brought out extreme personal and private feelings in Beavan and it was refreshing to have him be so open with us.
"All the ads say the same thing: You suck, but if you buy this, you won't, and then everyone will love you" (157). I've always known that advertising agencies are only concerned with selling their products, they do not care about anything else. But, this statement made me realize the true goal of advertising, to make us believe that there is always a "next best thing." We are never able to feel completely satisfied with ourselves because we are always lookng for more. For me personally, I know I have a problem with always wanting a new phone. I'm always perfectly happy with my phone when I get a new one, but once I start seeing other people with Iphones or Droids or any phone that seems nicer than mine, I begin to feel that mine is inadequate, when in reality, my phone does exactly what I need it to do, call people when I need to. I don't need a phone with internet because I already have a computer which does that for me. Personally, I need to learn that I already have enough. I have to learn to separate my needs from my wants. Because when it really comes down to it, I may not have all I want, but I have everything that I need.
For me, the most powerful passage in these two chapters is on page 144:
ReplyDelete"When your blog is ranked number 2,000 in the entire world and you're still not happy, your brain tells you you'll be happy when you get to number 1,000. When you're a Silicon Valley millionaire and you're not happy, you brain tells you it's just a matter of buckling down and becoming a billionaire."
We, as human beings, always keep looking up to the next level. We always reach for the next step. Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that having high expectations for ourselves is a bad thing. It actually makes you a more confident and motivated person. However, I believe that when you think that the next level is going to bring you permanent happiness and you're so hungry for it that you overlook all the things you have presently, it can be unhealthy and unsatisfying. There are constantly going to be people that are better, smarter, and richer than you, but that doesn't necessarily make them happier.
I can apply this to my life too. Right now, I am constantly thinking that if I get to go to my dream college, I will be the happiest person in the world and my whole life will be set. Or, if I get an A on my next statistics test, I will have best day ever. By doing this, I overlook the fact that I made an A on my last physics test or that I am attending one of the best schools (if not the best school) in Chattanooga. Of course I sill want to get to go to my dream school and I still want to make an A on that next test. But I need to realize that it won't bring me permanent happiness.
As I was reading these chapters I found my mind wandering because of some of the things he said. I thought about the statement that Suzzane talked about, "We're too busy for love because we're working to get the stuff that the ads say will bring us love." (157). I thought a lot about love and stuff. I think that we work to get stuff and we work to get love but to me, its not the same work.
ReplyDeleteI work to get love by spending time with people and helping them and sharing things with them. I work to get stuff by getting good grades so that my parents will give me money so I can buy stuff. I don't think that these two kinds of work are the same. I think they are two completely different ways of doing things. One way can hurt the enviornment and one way does nothing but help me and others. When I know someone loves me I am happy and that kind of happy lasts a lot longer then the happiness I feel when I buy a new shirt or movie.
These chapters made me think we shouldn't only work for one kind of love (stuff) but find a happy medium by working for all kinds of love and happiness. For example, the happiness you feel when you succeed, when you feel loved, when you buy new things, and when you do something for yourself. I think that if you find a happy medium between all of these things, you will find happiness in all of them.
Something struck a chord with me in these chapters. Beavan immediately opens the chapter in the second paragraph with “here in the United State, to be a good citizen is to be an aggressive consumer. To be patriotic is to shop.” Unfortunately, I believe he is correct and that this is the case in this country. For example, the theory for tax cuts boosting the economy is that a person who experiences a tax cut will take the money he or she would have paid to the government and spend it in the economy on goods. The country relies on people buying stuff.
ReplyDeleteOn page 150 Beavan points out the system of trickery to keep this purchasing going forever. He says, “Designed obsolescence. Manufacturers began looking for ways to deliberately cause their own products to become obsolete so people would have to but them again and again- repetitive consumption.” Reading this angered me. Not at Beavan, but at the people who make the products I use. Why can they not make a reliable product to be used for as long as possible? Does no body else see the crisis happening in the environment and want to help reduce the materials used in the products we create?
These two chapters made me question who I am and what I try to accomplish more than any of the other ones so far.
ReplyDeleteBeavan talked about his fear that he is wasting his time. "The danger, for me, is that I get attached to goals like these, find out that I've used up my limited time in this life on something that is essentially meaningless" (Page 143)
This really made me think about all of the things I am worrying about now. What is actually important? I am about to go to college and I have been spending so much time with my friends and schoolwork and hardly any time with my family. I know I am going to be leaving my friends soon too, but I am also about to leave my family and never come back to live with them. It scares me that I am doing all of these things that may be wasting my time. What am I going to look back and be thankful that I did?
This is really what I think Beavan was wanting us to feel. This book was supposed to make us think about things the same way he began this project and through the possibly most powerful way for us to think about things: through fear. I am afraid of a lot of the things that he talks about and it really makes me question myself and what I believe in. I definitely think this is a good thing, but it is kind of upsetting that Beavan has to do this through fear.