“Power to the People”

Power to the People, right on!

Shaving helps keep the unwanted hair at bay, but can it be an environmental tool as well? Actually not really.

Not shaving was a form of revolution back in the 60’s, but now facial hair has taken on a different status. Where men grew big bushy beards in protest of war, women are now letting their hair grow naturally in a form of personal protest against forced feminist ideals. It’s all good, the less people shaving the better.

Scraping hair of your face, legs, or from under your armpits is a multi-billion dollar industry. Have you ever really looked at the shaving section in a supermarket? It makes my head spin. When we think of diminishing resources, maybe so much plastic being tossed out with a small bit of blade isn’t the best idea for our personal hygiene and vanity.

Not much shaving with this crew!

I’m not saying we all stop shaving, but maybe we can put a bit more thought into how we actually do it. The advertising behind the razor industry has us all believing how important it is for us men to have a jaw that is smooth as silk or we’ll never get that beautiful woman to caress our chiseled silky smooth chins. Our parents scraped the hair from their faces and legs, but it was done with a safety razor where you only threw away a small thin stainless steel blade afterwards. These are still available, and work fine. I may not shave my chin often, but my head and cheeks get a daily scraping!

C’mon, look at that clean bean!

Here are some links for those interested:

http://bit.ly/165ZVAy (British)

http://bit.ly/119x1qd (ebay link)

http://bit.ly/dy9zP (American)

Shaving is obviously just one of our many daily choices and how we effect the world around us. I use shaving because it is part of our every day lives.

If shaving doesn’t worry you or make the list of top priorities to help our struggling environment, just pick a daily routine and see if there is a better way.

The weather has seen quite a world-wide trend of unusual patterns emerging. It got me thinking once again about our precious balance between humanity and the rest of the species we share our planet with. I’m sure glad we’re the only ones who need housing, personal transport and feel the need to scrape the hair off our bodies, imagine just two other species living the way we do. I can’t even conjure up the mental image.

Other animals survive by eating locally, but again not us. Like everything else we have turned it in to such a complicated global multi-billion dollar business that it is impossible to explain its intricacies. Yes many systems have been put in place that are hard to get out of now, but not impossible.

It boggles my mind to think of chemical engineers sitting in labs coming up with the perfect crunch for a potato chip, while millions more dollars are spent by large drink manufacturers to get already addicted “Users,” to use the industry term, to buy more of a useless beverage that definitely doesn’t “Add life” nor should it ever be “Always Coca-Cola”. The sooner we wake up to the fact of how we are being manipulated the better off everything will be.

I am fortunate to live in a part of the world where we can get away from the onslaught of media grabbing our wallets and shaking them empty. It’s certainly a battle to keep hold of our principals, but so worth it when we do.

So, these are my ideas to help us on the path to freedom from indentured servitude. Shave with thought, drink with mindfulness, nurture ourselves and our families with real food, and “Just say no” to blind consumerism. Very few of the companies out there with caring mainstream add campaigns have your good looks, health or lifestyle on the forefront of their minds.

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”

― Mahatma Gandhi

Have a look in your cupboards and refrigerators. How many of the companies represented there would you like to empower for another day? The only one with those answers are ourselves. In the words of another global company’s add campaign, “Just Do It!” Change the buying/eating habits you’d like to.

Empower us all, eat, drink and scrape away those unwanted hairs knowing that we do have the power of choice. Be aware that the castle you call your home should not be The Bastille being stormed by unwanted visitors. Keep your heads held high, not strapped down waiting for the guillotine. Then it’s too late to think, “Oh maybe I should have done things differently.”

Now is the moment, the future is ever present. I for one look forward to a future of people acting and living in a rhythm of life that enhances true health of our species, and all other species plus the earthship that houses us all.

Peace, Joe