I'm guilty too

Dreaming again of those far away places shrouded in mists, high above the treeline where there's nothing but the wind and rocks of the mountain tops.
It's a vision that I've had for a long time, just to escape into the wilderness and live like a wildman. Closer to the earth and the elements, not depending on anyone but myself for sustenance, only taking that from the earth that I had to to survive. But, it's pretty much just one of those dreams we toy with in this era. Something we escape to for a few days or maybe a weeks worth of hiking, but to live that way now? You'll be branded as a nutjob, or a psycho! Why do you want to give up all this modern convenience? Why do you want to eschew television, Big Macs, Craft-Matic Adjustable beds, Cheetos, Saltine Crackers, and sliced bread to go live in a tent and eat berries and fish?
The modern world is nice, but it's soulless. Sure, there's a lot of caring people in the world who love each other and reach out to one another, but how far below the surface does all that go? Last night I watched a program on Nightline about the aid that is pledged in the wake of a natural disaster as well as the coverage that those disasters receive. I was a bit saddened to hear that some of the aid which is 'pledged' to be sent by nations and leaders, doesn't actually make it after all. It's just a superficial thing, for the newsmedia by some of the world leaders. The same with the coverage of disasters by the media, after so much of it the public becomes desensitized to it. They turn the channels and tune out any further mention of human suffering in the world, until the next time. I think that if people could just live closer to the earth, develop more of a harmony with the world around them then all of the superficiality which is a result of the ball and chain of television in our day to day lives would vanish.

Where I'd rather be 

So many times in life...

It's so often that we think to ourselves...I wish I were somewhere else. We've created bumperstickers to commemorate this idea....'I'd rather be fishing, hiking, reading, having sex...etc etc etc ad infinitum. But what are we really saying to ourselves and the world around us when we say, I'd rather be somewhere else?
Is the present moment such a burden that we want to leave it to be somewhere else? Is the state of our lives such a hassle that we dream of these other places? Life's a journey, we have to get through the present to get to the future. So, there's really no point in wishing you were anywhere other then where you are right now, the future will take you where you are supposed to go......whether you like it or not.

I've spent a lot of time wishing that I were in other places...whether it was above or below the equator. Whether it was 20 years earlier or 20 year into the future. We can wish for many things....but it's all for naught when you really get down to brass tacks. You live in the present moment, you'll die in the present moment, you might as well enjoy that moment. So just try your best to be happy in that moment...it's really all I have to say for now.