A Daily Dose of Beauty

In Wolf Hardin's latest essay, Nonsensical Economy & Champion Greenbacks, he states that

I believe I’d really have enjoyed being alive at an earlier date when both words and money were spent carefully, when meaningful conversation was of more importance than accumulation, when free time for having fun was seen as more valuable than owning more toys, when a good friend was considered worth more than a thousand investors, love more precious than gold and one’s word more bankable than a lawyer-penned contract.

Some of us try to live our lives honoring these values today, but it's true that our culture in general doesn't encourage our doing so, instead pressuring us on all sides to live our lives as shallowly and fleetingly as possible, paying more attention to things than to our loved ones or our own welfare or the source of all we are, Earth and Spirit. Yet people like to rebel against the expected, no matter their age, so maybe in such a spirit more and more will begin to raise their fists against this kind of wasteful, thoughtless living, to take time to connect with others beyond the surface, and to create meaning and beauty in their daily lives. Though it may not change the world, it will make our own lives more pleasant, and it can't hurt!