Thinking green
My mother lives in Spain in a valley without electricity. All the houses in the valley use solar panels.
The other day she told me excitedly that the electric company was putting poles up the valley so everyone could get connected to the grid and get electricity.
I was surprised by her excitement because she is very green and solar is greener than grid electric. But then solar can be a pain in the ass if you don’t spend gobs of money on panels.
“So you are excited to get on the grid.” I said.
“Hell no!” She said. “I’m excited because I plan on buying all my neighbors’ panels at dirt cheap rates! Grid electricity is the past! Solar is the future!”
That’s the spirit. I agree with her. It may have looked like the electric company was bringing the valley into the present but I think the solar powered valley had leapfrogged the technology, going from candles to local solar and skipping the middle stage of grid electricity.
Just because the world around you is moving in one direction does not mean the world as a whole is moving in that direction. One isn’t better than the other but it is important to keep the perspective in mind.
Even though everyone around my mother is moving to the grid I think the world at large is moving towards solar electricity. My mother’s personal vision is in harmony with the world at large.
There are three things to consider in defining perspective:
1. Your personal perspective
2. The perspective of things immediately around you
3. The perspective of things at large
I find that if you have the courage and strength it is good to find the harmonies between points 1 and 3 and then stay true to them. In my mother’s case it is also going to save her a lot of money.
Point 2 is just passing and only worth paying attention to on a practical level. Being in harmony with point 2 at the expense of 1 and 3 can eventually leave you out of touch with yourself and the world. Being in harmony with 1 and 3 at the expense of 2 can make you a little unpopular in the short run but that about it.
Of course harmony between all three is great and the ultimate goal, but sometimes not possible because you are not in control. All this is just about perspective and not really about controlling the process.
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