Monday, December 22, 2008

Avoid Debt at All Costs


(Image source: http://www.getentrepreneurial.com/images/debt.gif)


To escape the holds of the old paradigm it is most helpful to avoid the chains that are responsible for containing those who are already living in the old paradigm i.e. DEBT. Debt is the anchor that drags one into the system of work and taxation. Debt is often self-created and in some cases is akin to selling ones soul to the devil for something shiny or of material value. Debt is not always bad, as it is true that debt can be managed correctly and in fact in many cases it can empower those without resources to rise above a lower state of material existence and enter one of a higher existence--however, debt, which is just as often mismanaged and coned onto those who are young or do not know any better, is a major element that dictates a persons freedom to learn, explore, experiment with alternative ways of living and ways of fulfilling physical and spiritual needs.

Cutting straight to the point--one cannot take time off from work to build themselves a cob house over the span of a year and half if one is forced to work full time to pay off debt and/or any other bills associated with the process of living to pay off debt. If one is in debt one cannot take time off from work to learn how to grow food for themselves and their communities. If one is in debt one cannot afford to travel and study from other regions of the country where people are carving out amazing lifestyles that don't depend on money. If one is in debt, one cannot even drop what their doing to follow their own heart amidst a major life change or revelation. How have we let this happen? How have we managed to give away our basic right to travel and seek higher states of being? Where did this debt come from?!

Debt is a man made creation. No where in nature will you find the concept of debt because in nature there is no credit system. Without a credit system, there is no basis to make loans, and without loans, there is no basis to acquire anything that one cannot afford at that given time. In nature, only current wealth, or relative wealth exists ( i.e. wealth that is real and tangible and is not represented by credit). Debt is unnatural and unnecessary for human civilization.

In an ideal world, there is no need for debt. In an ideal world, everything a person needs to survive is available from the land and from the local community. Timber forests and earth for building, food forests for protein, fruit, vegetable and medicine, gardens for eating, ponds for bathing and drinking and community for socializing. In an ideal world, there is no need for a college education. In an ideal world, knowledge is free and available to whomever wishes to work for it. Sure we can still have college for those who actually use their education to advance society, but in reality, many people who go to college don't really advance society other than aiding in perpetuating the preexisting unsustainable patterns that were laid before them!

In closing, all I really want to say is AVOID DEBT AT ALL COSTS. Only buy what you can afford at that given moment, and before you decide to pay someone for knowledge, seek others who will give it to you for free!

1 comment:

  1. Debt is definitely a chain. And although we are free in society, we are still chained by debt, and this incapacitates our ability to do other things. If you're busy delivering pizzas all night just to pay your bills -- and do it again -- it becomes very difficult to donate any free time to improving society, or sometimes even oneself (ie, exercise, diet, ect).

    Avoiding debt and securing financial stability provides a sense of freedom in our monetary based society. Without such financial freedom, one becomes held down, and life can become repetitive and cyclical.

    Let us all work to become financially free :)

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