Thursday 6 May 2021

Reflections

 Good morning. Bright and sunny here, there is a crispness in the air. Two days of no walking so I have some catching up to do. I see several people walking around the village on a regular basis. One lady walks with her friend, sometimes alone. I said to her once why doesn't your hubby join you on a walk, he would enjoy it. She said, no he won't do that, he likes his tele and his beer. She is slim, him overweight. A year has passed and he is dead, she is still walking. True story. 

I don't spend a lot of time looking back, things that have happened in the past can't be changed. I concentrate on today, and what I can do to get the most out of life. Just lately I have been thinking about the direction the world is going and I don't like what I see. They call it progress, but things are changing at a rapid pace. 

People talk about the good old days, but there were hard at times as well. People were supported by their local community, people mucked in together. There has always been conflict and disease in some parts of the world, caused by clashes in religion, race, and the unequal distribution of wealth. There will always be the have's and the have not's. And now the plan is for everyone to be the same.

The problem is that the custodians of the New World will not be the ordinary people, it will be those who are the wealthiest. Up to now those with the largest amounts of money have called the shots. It is they who have led us right down the garden path, it is they who will lead us into oblivion. 

As I see it we need to get back down to our grass roots. Small local communities helping each other. Globalisation is not the answer. We have seen the influence of those in power as they inflict their one size fits all regime on the world. They ignore the individuals needs and rights. They bulldoze their way through society, dividing and driving a wedge between the rich and poor, so that people blame everyone else for their predicament. 

The world is not one group, it is many groups, with many levels of poverty and wealth. If the elite want to sort out inequality and make the world a better place for all they must use their wealth to level things out. But they will not. Amazon will grow bigger, robots and artificial intelligence will become normal, and food production will be dominated by the big players. 

It is the elite with the money who are destroying society as we know it, and people are going along with it. I hate to say this but we need to start back pedaling. People need to adjust their expectations of what they want from life. Do they want to be permanently hooked up to a screen as they are already, or do they want human face to face interactions? Do they want every single thing they buy delivered to their door, so they never have to step outside? Every Amazon purchase is another nail in the coffin for small businesses. 

If you want to retain your individuality get rid of your smart phones, and start using cash locally for your purchases. That would be a good start. 

My stomach is telling me to eat. I have mushrooms and eggs on toast for breakfast. Might chuck something else in the pan. I'll cut you loose. Have a nice day.   ilona 

31 comments:

  1. I was in a reflective mood this morning, too. I was saying to my husband that I could imagine the world, in the future, after humans. Our machines are silent and rusted, our buildings slowly crumbling back into the earth. The sound of the birds flying overhead, animals making their way on land, the sea once again filled with life, insects going about their business. The sun setting, casting an array of colours over the ocean,the wind carrying the sound of the waves breaking on the shore, occasionally leaving shreds from face masks tangled around seaweed, broken glass which nature has turned into seaglass jewels lying amongst the pebbles, and broken bits of plastic which, long, long ago, were part of something that humans desired and fought over. Way back in the era of the creatures who stood upright, when wars were waged over oil, over land, over gods that they worshipped, until they eventually thought of themselves as gods.they thought the world belonged to them and they tried to destroy nature.
    All long gone now, though. Nature got tired of them and handed them what they needed to destroy themselves.

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    1. What a wonderful world that would be.....

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    2. What5 lovely words if only that could be x

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    3. Thank you Eliza for a very reflective comment.

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  2. Never buy from Amazon, I never have and never will. Prefer not to use social media, and am looking for an alternative to gmail. Group of friends (all of us older) support each other by sharing what we can. It’s not going to change the big, global picture but it makes me feel better. Some things I will miss, like your two blogs, but that may be inevitable. Have fun and enjoy walking, as will I

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    1. We can only do our bit, Pam.

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    2. You could try protonmail. Its more secure and free too x

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  3. We are the only people I know who don't have a smart phone. It does make life difficult in many ways and I am afraid it will be more so. When I grew up ( born in U.K. in 1945) we had no home telephone until 1966 and then only because Dad's work made it a requirement. I remember taking four huge pennies to the 'phone box for the very rare occasion that I had to make a call.....

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    1. I remember putting pennies in the slot, and pressing button B to see if any coins tumbled out from the previous person who used it.

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  4. In Sweden the authorities want to force everyone into digitization and to use smart phones it makes me angry because I want to choose by myself what I want to spend my money on. They want you to download appar for everything instead of a phone call to speak to someone. Before you could have a TV or a phone for years, nowadays the things breaks in a couple of years and you have to buy new ones, that is expencive. Not everyone can afford it or are not interested in to buy every new thing on the market

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    1. I don't blame you for being angry. I am with Tesco for my call charges on my mobile. They keep trying to get me to buy a basic smart phone. No thank you very much. I will carry on with my little Nokia, which is on PAYG, no contract.

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  5. I don't always agree with you, but I ehjoy your reflections.

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    1. There are a lot of people I don't agree with. Everyone is different.

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  6. Well said Ilona! Here in the US, half the country is apparently happy with the new President, the other half is shaking their heads and feeling like the world has gone mad. I don’t think the path we are on will end in a good place…but maybe I am getting old and negative like my mother ;).

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    1. A split down the middle is the way of the world, it will never change. There are splits among bloggers and readers. People have abandoned me and they congregate in little cliques in other places. That's fine. I stay true to myself. Get on with your own life as best as you can.

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  7. i couldnt agree more,i have to have a mobile phone for work and last yr they moved us from paper time sheets to an online app log off log on do notes etc on the ph, i was so ticked off at the time because i dont want to be looking at the ph anymore than i have too,as i get older im planning, well fingers crossed,on moving back to the area i grew up in about 8 hours drive from where i live now,no one is on their ph there or staring at a screen cuse the price and reception is so bad no one bothers with it,theres the country side and the ocean and face to face gatherings if you like,or see hardly anyone at all and safe. Louise

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    1. Good for you. I hope your dreams come true.

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  8. Good morning Ilona
    I have seen references in your posts before re: smart phones, but I'm curious as to why you feel they are so bad? Thank you.

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    1. A few points.
      They can become addictive. Any addiction is bad if not kept in check.
      They stop people from thinking for themselves, the brain becomes sluggish. Press a few buttons and read what it says on the screen.
      They divert attention away from what is really important for a balanced life. To be in tune with nature, to learn from what is going on around you.
      They track your every movement. Big brother is watching.
      People think they are giving you freedoms but they are not. Freedom is being eroded because they control what you do, and how you think. people might think it is convenient to buy online, but having a screen constantly with you gives opportunity to be bombarded by adverts.
      A lot of psychological damage is happening to people's brains, and they don't realise it.

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  9. Without my smartphone I could not keep in touch with my son who is in Mexico, and my daughter who lives in Yorkshire. Plus I need it to be able to get my NHS discount at Morrisons. Technology can offer all kinds of things to all kinds of people. Everyone has different needs in life. Throughout the pandemic, technology has been a lifeline for me to keep in touch with my family and friends. I do not see this as an addiction, but a basic requirement.

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    1. Try switching it off for a month and see how you get on. The pandemic has now finished.

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  10. Isnt being an individual about having choices? That includes the choice to own a smartphone or use a card instead of cash.

    No adverts on my smartphone, lots of apps, my diary, camera, phone, internet, alarm clock, notepad, grocery shopping, photos, online Spanish course, a few games, maps, online banking, some music, an app to name stars and planets in the solar system, an app that measures my walking, an app that I can claim money back on groceries, my emails and all on a very small piece of equipment that I can take anywhere and means I dont need paperwork. I can keep in touch with my children and if my elderly parents need me urgently then they can get me straight away. I honestly believe they are a fantastic investment.

    It costs me £11.50 per month. Phone came with the contact.

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    1. Now that would scare me to death, my whole life in a small electronic gadget. I would be scared of losing it, scared that it might get hacked, scared that someone would steal my identity, scared that money would disappear out of my account, scared that all my personal details could be stolen in an instant. It would be like a chain around my neck, no thanks. You are free to do what you like, I am free to choose not to join in.

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    2. Wow - I can't even imagine using my phone for all of those things! Each to their own, obviously, but I prefer to do things the old-fashioned way. I only use my mobile when I'm out, if I'm meeting up with someone, then it's a quick text to say something like 'I'm in the car park' and then I'll get a text back with 'I'll be there in five minutes', or something similar,and that's it for the day. I do online banking, social media, YouTube, on my tablet at home, I don't want it with me wherever I go. My diary is in a drawer, my notebook and pen is next to my landline and my calendar is hanging on the wall! ��

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    3. Its really not my whole life on my phone.
      And all the important stuff is backed up so if I did lose it then I would only lose the phone and not its content.

      I'm not permanently attached to it, its often just in my bag and available, if and when its needed.

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  11. That was meant to be a laughing emoji at the end of my comment - I don't know what those two black things are! 😂

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    1. I don't know what they are either. Look a bit like question marks. I get comments on the yoootooob channel which are a string of daft pictures, emoji's, symbols, etc. Wish they wouldn't bother. A few words are enough.

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  12. Agree Ilona 100%. My personal election manifesto.......People to live within their means, join the F.I.R.E movement if they can, chauffeur their TV's to the tip, cultivate gardens and or allotments to grow food, quit Social Media, quit believing MSM, cycle, walk or swim or all three, get into having hobbies, make their own entertainment, learn to cook for themselves, play sports instead of being spectators, recycle, read a minimum of one book a week, teach their children self-reliance and be jailed for any form of cruelty to animals.

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    1. Agree with all of that, CrystalMoonCat !!

      Amanda

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