How then, do we move backwards? How does a society, with most of the people having no clue of future events, move from being dependent on a vast and intertwined network of goods and services produced by the indigenous people of whereever, to a local resource and renewable energy based society, and do so in the timeframe available (20-30 years using the most liberal extimates, 10-20 with resonable estimates, 5-10 with worst case scenarios), all the while prices on everything increasing, world politics getting more militaristic, governments continuously reducing civil liberties, shortages of goods on the market and weather patterns resembling bad Hollywood movies?
Joined: Dec 30, 2007 Posts: 18 Location: Im not f#%king interested
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 1:54 am Post subject: lonely peak
I find it hard to particpate in regular activities because the fun comes from any unsustainable ilogical way of of life. I can't get away from thinking along those lines not that I really wanted to because this perception of only looking in practical usage is so important.
This way of thinking has slowly over the last few years alienated me from most of the people I want to high school with and Im getting the feeling that my social life will not resume until a post peak oil practical world reveals itself.
Has anyone else hit peak lonely? _________________ Come and see and I saw, behold a pale horse.
Joined: Oct 18, 2004 Posts: 1715 Location: kiwibush
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 2:20 am Post subject: Re: lonely peak
If you mean that life seems almost surreal these days to the point where one finds the preoccupations of those around you disorientating, yes. In fact, it's probably fair to say that I find that I share almost nothing with those around me other than the most superficial which just about gets me by. _________________ Bugger me, I hear oil's runnin out mate!
Joined: Jul 04, 2007 Posts: 1814 Location: via corinas inundum
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 2:28 am Post subject: Re: lonely peak
Welcome to my entire life.
I have virtually never had anything in common with anyone around me. Though i did meet a girl awhile back and we talk from time to time who is nearly as sick and twisted as me. No matter how disturbing of crap I come up with, she somehow finds a way to top me.
But, she has no interest peak oil, politics, but on the plus side. she is an agnostic.
Joined: May 02, 2005 Posts: 3249 Location: One more question...
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 5:34 am Post subject: Re: lonely peak
camefromthecorn wrote:
I find it hard to particpate in regular activities because the fun comes from any unsustainable ilogical way of of life. I can't get away from thinking along those lines not that I really wanted to because this perception of only looking in practical usage is so important.
This way of thinking has slowly over the last few years alienated me from most of the people I want to high school with and Im getting the feeling that my social life will not resume until a post peak oil practical world reveals itself.
Has anyone else hit peak lonely?
You sound severely depressed. You should go see a doctor or a counselor and see if you can get some help! _________________ "Don't ever become a pessimist... a pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun, and neither can stop the march of events."
Robert A. Heinlein
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 7:29 am Post subject: Re: lonely peak
americandream wrote:
If you mean that life seems almost surreal these days to the point where one finds the preoccupations of those around you disorientating, yes. In fact, it's probably fair to say that I find that I share almost nothing with those around me other than the most superficial which just about gets me by.
I wasn't much of a social butterfly anyway (lived on the streets 11 years or so), never got along with members of the opposite sex very well (ended up marrying an asian of above average intelligence)....have been called various names by various members o this forum, but hardly expected otherwise....interestingly enough, I get along fine with my spouse; she's a firm believer in peak everything but doesn't talk about it to anyone and doesn't think it does any good to talk about it. I'm not impressed with my bosses' six flat screen plasma tvs (even one for the bathroom) or my co-workers aspirations to get the government to build a section 8 house on his land and then rent it to his morbidly obese mother who his morbidly obese wife is getting paid by the government to take care of; to him everything in life is a way to get over, which I suppose I do in a different way.
My family won't talk to me anymore because of my talking about peak oil; they are millionaires whose income depends on real estate, construction and tourism, and if any of this happens things might not be so pretty for them; my wife says don't worry about it, they are just scared.
But I agree with the moderator; we don't have much time here, and it seems best to find a reason to live. My children brighten my day, and I live vicariously through them; I didn't have a childhood (pretty much like the cow-f%$ker posted about his) but most of the worlds children have to hit the ground running. I love plants (also) and garden and grow plumeria as a hobby (not much future for plumeria, post peak I'm afraid). Interestingly enough, I am a mere produce clerk at he grocery store at which I work; out of 165 employee there there are only five people I have met that are peak oil aware; two managers, one gm guy and one maintainence guy. They are all "waiting" while everyone else just hopes for a better sales record tommorrow....
Joined: Aug 03, 2006 Posts: 4043 Location: Memphis
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 7:46 am Post subject: Re: lonely peak
You are depressed because of the way you are perceiving the problem, not because of the problem itself.
The purpose of this distinction is to suggest that your understanding of the problem will evolve and along with it your ability to cope with it.
You discovered at some point that your body would die one day, but you have managed to get over that (as we all must if we are to live).
What you have discovered now is that the world of industrial capitalism will also die one day. Just let that soak in for a while and then decide the best way to spend your time on this earth.
Be happy. We are all blessed to be living in such interesting times. People thrive on challenges, and we will have plenty in the next few decades.
Remember that hopelessness is not a strategy. _________________
Joined: Sep 04, 2005 Posts: 356 Location: central MA, USA
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 8:03 am Post subject: Re: lonely peak
camefromthecorn wrote:
I find it hard to particpate in regular activities because the fun comes from any unsustainable ilogical way of of life.
What are "regular" activities, and who defines "regular" for you?
Do you mean "entertainment" activities? If so, is nothing entertaining -- that is to say, enjoyable -- for you? If nothing is, then that does sound like depression, and it's worth trying to fix it, through therapy (to learn more about yourself) or pharma or both. Life is a thoroughly neat thing, and ought not be used without ever any happiness along the way. Even if what drives you is preparing yourself for what you imagine is to come, post-Peak, surely there ought to be some pleasure in the process?? Pleasure at achievement, at learning, at filling the pantry, whatever?
Or if you just meant, you don't enjoy the same things that many people around you do, that's different. I'd say "so what?" except that clearly you need to find others who share enjoyment of some of the same things. What do you enjoy doing?
Quote:
I can't get away from thinking along those lines not that I really wanted to because this perception of only looking in practical usage is so important.
This way of thinking has slowly over the last few years alienated me from most of the people I want to high school with and Im getting the feeling that my social life will not resume until a post peak oil practical world reveals itself.
I was alienated from most of the people I went to high school when I was in high school. I haven't seen any of them in a couple of decades at least. No big deal. Having moved around a bit during my school years, I knew at the time that the "friendships" I had in high school were transitory. The kind of fox-hole friendships you make when a bunch of people are tossed together randomly by force (rather than by choice). It's rare in my experience for those to survive the years. People grow, move away, experience life differently; how should we expect to still be friends with things in common with such long-ago relationships?
OTOH, the few friends I do have -- I don't use the term "friend" as lightly as many seem to -- I don't talk about Peak Oil or its effects to, ever. Doesn't everyone need a break now & then? Why can't we enjoy a beer, or a movie, or whatever floats your boat, without feeling bad about doing it? (Again, if you are unable to ever do this, you are probably depressed and should try to address that. Truly. Been clinically depressed once. It sucks so amazingly badly. Just leaches the life out of life.)
Quote:
Has anyone else hit peak lonely?
Well, I am very fortunate to have ended a bad marriage and begun another soon after with a marvelous woman who is my best friend.
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 10:08 am Post subject: Re: lonely peak
Quote:
camefromthecorn
Welcome to PO.com
We had a similar conversation with someone awhile back. If your screen name is in any way descriptive of where in the country you are from (such as Iowa) your problem is that you have been through one of the nastiest, coldest and longest winters in a long time.
You should go to a tanning place, and get some rays. This will help you shake off the Seasonal Affected Disorder that you are currently experiencing. Alternate plan: get into your car, get on I-35 sounth, and do not stop until you get to Padre. If too cheap for either of these two, plan C is to get a bottle of Vitamin D supplements, and start taking them.
Secondly, as soon as it warms up to something approaching a tolerable level, which it will eventually, get out your bike and get ready for RAGBRAI. The more of a couch potato you are right now, the more this type of strenuous exercise will benefit you. Alternate plan: Look in the paper for an indoor exercise bike which you can ride in the meantime. If you do not have a bike, buy one at a garage sale and learn how to work on it.
There is now an abundance of biker clubs, all across the midwest. If there is one near you, join them for a Saturday ride. There may be several in your area: find one that is low-key. These people tend to be well educated, and accepting. This will also help you do some social networking, an important PO skill, but also give you the gift of fossil-fuel-free transportation. Note: They may offer you some beverages. Do not worry if you are "slow". A lot of these people ride just barely fast enough to keep from falling over.
Joined: Mar 12, 2007 Posts: 844 Location: As close as I can get to the beginning of the pipe.
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 11:57 am Post subject: Re: lonely peak
pup55 wrote:
There is now an abundance of biker clubs, all across the midwest. If there is one near you, join them for a Saturday ride. There may be several in your area: find one that is low-key. These people tend to be well educated, and accepting. This will also help you do some social networking, an important PO skill, but also give you the gift of fossil-fuel-free transportation. Note: They may offer you some beverages. Do not worry if you are "slow". A lot of these people ride just barely fast enough to keep from falling over.
Welcome, Corn. Pup speaks very wise words, listen to them. It has been an awful winter for many folks. Recognizing serotonin deficiency at the end of a long dark winter may take practice. And then you have to be flexible/adaptable enough to make fixes with behavioral changes, rather than the high-energy approach, which is to spend $500 or more for a shrink and some nasty mood elevating medication with lots of side effects.
The other important point here is how one defines fun. Once your point of reference has shifted with regard to peak oil, things that may have been fun before start to appear ridiculous. By extension, your circle of friends may need to change a bit. A bit of introspection here is required. If you can think different, and approach behavioral changes as a challenge and a new adventure, your outlook may improve. _________________ "For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst and provide for it." --Patrick Henry
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 1:24 pm Post subject: Re: lonely peak
camefromthecorn wrote:
I find it hard to particpate in regular activities because the fun comes from any unsustainable ilogical way of of life. I can't get away from thinking along those lines not that I really wanted to because this perception of only looking in practical usage is so important.
This way of thinking has slowly over the last few years alienated me from most of the people I want to high school with and Im getting the feeling that my social life will not resume until a post peak oil practical world reveals itself.
Has anyone else hit peak lonely?
Yes our modern life is unsustainable however by STOPPING your activities you just allow one of the other 6.5 billion have a go at it.
I have a reasonably good job and even went to the trouble of getting a second job. Im like the king now Im flush with cash (lucky I have a tiny mortgage) and Im constantly buying stuff, gadgets, books, movies, electronics, computers and generally enjoying myself nice foods, dinners out etc...
Live it to the MAX until we go over the cliff.
You riding a bike which is sustainable just means the SUV owner gets cheaper gas in his fuel tank. So get your car call your friends and party. Babel brother babel. THIS IS HUGE!! _________________ "Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box."
-Italian Proverb
Joined: Aug 03, 2006 Posts: 4043 Location: Memphis
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 2:46 pm Post subject: Re: lonely peak
A strong appreciation for gallows humor also helps.
I can only watch the news by laughing at every story I see, it's all so utterly ridiculous, shocking and unimaginably awful.
My favorite is watching the talking heads' awkward shift in expression as they segue from a multiple retarded child decapitation story to the weather forecast. _________________
Joined: Oct 18, 2004 Posts: 1715 Location: kiwibush
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 3:59 pm Post subject: Re: lonely peak
I'm a marxist ideologically and have never seen the viability of this system. We would have to adopt a lifestyle akin to the Cuban to achieve any semblence of sustainability (societal, resource and environmental) and in the process of doing so develop a way of thinking that lifts us above the current mode of extreme individualism.
I suspect the potential for that degree of change has passed. The slide back into religious irrationalism (and the accompanying rise of quasi-science) along with cultural nationalism on a grandiose scale where we are now confronted with the absurdity of the "war of civilisations" has put paid to that. In addition, the overwhelmingly solipsistic view of reality so prevalent in the post-modern era tends to overwhelm reasoned argument.
I suspect we will see a gradual slide back to barbarism, this time round though, it will carry a technological punch _________________ Bugger me, I hear oil's runnin out mate!
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I haven't seen any of them in a couple of decades at least. No big deal. Having moved around a bit during my school years, I knew at the time that the "friendships" I had in high school were transitory. The kind of fox-hole friendships you make when a bunch of people are tossed together randomly by force (rather than by choice). It's rare in my experience for those to survive the years. People grow, move away, experience life differently; how should we expect to still be friends with things in common with such long-ago relationships?
