Sentinel Pass and the rights and duties of Man.

I have finished working for Greenpeace. Moved out of Calgary and back to Banff. David and I went to Abbots Pass and climbed Lefroy and Victoria. on Friday Shelly and I went walking into Sentinel Pass, we had a long discussion about society and the individual - interspersed with awed exclamations on the incredible horizon looming above us.

Greenpeace had me thinking a lot about the costs that we place on our earth and on our society. My ongoing investigation of my life and what truly I desire; and what other people and society require; led me to thinking about work, it's costs; leisure and its costs; our obligations as individuals and as a society to reduce theses costs and so the result.

Our discussion originated from the question - should we support people who are no/are not able to support themselves. And for the sake of argument I looked at the other extreme - a person who works in a field such as cosmetics, drug, chemical etc industry where their work is for luxury and unnecessary. This work causes serious damage, but the person is highly paid for their work, self-sufficient and 'admired' in society. What I am interested in is who places more costs on our world and society.

We have valued work - at what it pays at the market rate; but the market rate does not reflect a number of factors; costs no included in production - environmental costs. A lot of work we have excluded from the market; volunteer work, housekeeping, raising children etc according to our market theory - this is not valuable. Our society assumes that more money is better. So people work for more money. I dispute that money is what we aspire - partly it is the things that money can buy - cars, houses etc. but many of these factors are environmentally costly and why do we desire them - for status, for ease of getting to work. They are necessity only because of the lifestyle forced upon us. Do less. Work less. Own less, and live more simply. These items are not what we want in life. They are still materials to let us live easier. They are like a cyanide kill that we think is an aspirin. Cars do not help us - they kill us, destroy our environment.

What we really want in life is changes through time - sometimes it is challenges, sometimes peace and tranquility. These do not depend on material possessions, they are states of mind. We desire to be happy and contented. However, when dissatisfied we are tempted to buy our way out.