So I am bringing a child into this world. Well, technically my wife is, but I am a part of that happening, and will be a large part of the time (25-55 years) that follows. Honestly, I am a very very excited man, who is joining his wife for her first scan tomorrow.
This is all happening to 2 young, white, professional Canadians in a developed city that has access to emergency services, clean drinking water, heated insulated homes, toothpaste, free-ish medical care, and high speed internet. You know: the basics.
Despite all of our favourite alarmist documentaries, non-fiction books, movies /TV shows released over recent years such as: Watermark, Anthropocene: The Human Epoch, Manufactured Landscapes featuring the photography of Edward Burtynsky, No Impact Man, The Cove, Earthlings, George Monbiot's "Heat", The Handmaid's Tale, plus the podcast series The End of the World with Josh Clark, and, well, countless others, I am excited.
Despite Trump being the POTUS and Canadians being almost (not quite) as politically divided, and Albertans coming up with stupid ideas like "Wexit" and my own City's mismanagement of funds, inability to plan, and having sold basic infrastructure utilities like power, water, and drainage being run by for-profit companies: I am excited!
The economic demands of the world and the methods of achieving it through exploitation can be very disheartening for even young parents-to-be. These past few months I have become especially weary of the ads for depression in men, as well as real-life sad stories related to peoples' mental & physical health. The media (social and mainstream) certainly don't make things any easier. I have previously maintained that all them tree-loving hippies are out of touch with what the world needs, and that rather a "punk" anti-establishment burn-it-all-to-the ground philosophy is the mentality - if not the approach that we needed to have in any hope for a better world. Now that I am going to be a father though, I have come up with a couple of necessary secrets to happiness --- no, not "ignorance is bliss" but rather:
Accept things for what they are,
and
Minimize my own individual negative impact that I am placing on this world in the short time I'm here.
The name of this blog is called eternalhappyness, with that being an underlying theme since its inception. The pragmatic parent-to-be/engineer in me has come to realize that I can likely be most happy AND take care of my family the best if I do a few things:
1 - Acknowledge that we are indeed living on a planet that is beyond repair, effectively putting us into the start of the Sixth Great Extinction.
2 - Surround myself and my family in the healthiest environment (biophysically speaking) that can be afforded
3 - Give myself and my family the opportunity for self-reflection to facilitate each of our mental and spiritual health and growth. Spiritual, in a sense, that we are organic entities in a physical world, and we can all seek to understand our place in that.
4 - Be gracious and respect my privilege and opportunity, with whatever it is that I already have or may happen to go.
SO many people have lived the most wasted lives and worked for all the wrong things. This includes religion, money, and power. It still miffs me how I wrote a whole blog post about Pascal's Wager, which (obviously) was already a well-defined philosophical idea. It miffs me more how the most powerful people seem to be assholes and exploiters. Sure, I want increased income - but mostly so that I can comfortably provide for those dearest to me and support those who have less than me. I want freedom and independence where I am not holden to anything except for my family. Perhaps this is a big ask in such a jaded world, but I do want these things, and will continue to work towards getting them as best as I can.
Minor Threat, 1984
