We got too big for the world

Kohr’s claim was that society’s problems were not caused by particular forms of social or economic organization, but by their size. Socialism, capitalism, democracy, monarchy—all could work well on what he called “the human scale”: a scale at which people could play a part in the systems that governed their lives. But once scaled up to the level of modern states, all systems became oppressors. Changing the system, or the ideology that it claimed inspiration from, would not prevent that oppression—as any number of revolutions have shown—because “the problem is not the thing that is big, but bigness itself.”

http://lithub.com/we-got-too-big-for-the-world/

Out and about on the homestead

We have a dear friend, living relatively near to us, who is fairly housebound with oxygen...maintains a jovial demeanor, though. Has a beautiful view of the forest and a lake with otters, loons, bald eagles, beavers...we were in town yesterday and picked up groceries for her and ran some errands...Cheryl made up a bouquet of cut flowers from our yard...for a friend...and we went and visited for a while...Cheryl is a constant help to our "shut in" friend...(although she does get out now and again)...

Simplify...it's a global imperative now.

We make choices, we decide what our priorities are, and we give up certain things to gain others. Adding more and more to our list of “have to’s” is killing us. Because if everything matters, then nothing matters. The beauty of life lies in its finitude—everything is fleeting, so everything is more precious. Living in light of that reality helps us to choose what matters most in each moment.

As Charles Mingus said: 'Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity.' Or E. F. Schumacker: 'Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius—and a lot of courage—to move in the opposite direction.' Hans Hofmann: 'The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.'

Simplification can be very elegant.

Memorial Day weekend on the homestead

Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, squash, etc...rarin' to get out of the greenhouse and into the garden