Squilliam wrote: Understanding a broken system is one thing. Knowing what to do with oneself in light of this is another.
This is the challenge and its a big one. Here are some things that work and have worked for me.
The knowledge should empower you but not overwhelm you
The knowledge should demotivate you to join the consensus reality of consumption culture but motivate you to create an alternative where frugality and conservation are your principal virtues.
The knowledge should guide you toward the footloose freedom of exploiting the cracks and guide you away from the chains of debt that will put you in a golden cage.
The knowledge should make you tread lightly on the planet but at the same time not turn you into a Jainian fanatic where you sweep the floor in front of you to avoid killing any bugs. Just because abundance is the source of our problem does not mean you have to deny yourself of some reasoned material pleasures.
The knowledge should increase your compassion of our species plight at the same time as you cut through the sentimentality with a sword. Be honest about how ignorant most folks are and be unforgiving toward them because reality will punish them far more than any criticism you generate. Internalize this truth and cultivate compassion. Be rude and arrogant if you have to in order to awaken ignorance but follow up with compassion.
The knowledge should make you be in it but not of it. If you can earn a bit of wealth use it wisely to insulate yourself from the macro trends of decline.
Tune your entertainment and recreation toward our natural world and reject societies material values. This costs you nothing and the entertainment is all around you, even in the weeds that so tenaciously grow in the cracks of the concrete. Those weeds are metaphors for natures resilience to one day recolonize human landscapes. This should be a source of joy.