Melissa Hassler

Finding Focus

            Focus the Nation is about multi-faceted solutions to global warming.  I went to the poetry slam and listened to people of all backgrounds dish out their personal take on global warming and how to solve it.  One theme resounded through every message: we need change.  This theme also winds its way through Thoreau’s writing and even McKibben’s introduction to Walden.  Three of the performances at the poetry slam resonated with me in particular.  The featured poet, Supernova, spoke of how he is the only surviving member of his graduating class (I assume from high school) at the ripe old age of twenty-seven.  He has overcome so many odds- where he was born, the color of his skin, growing up without a father… It challenged me to think about how I can overcome my circumstances to stand out and make a difference in the world.  My obstacles are of a much different nature than Supernova’s, however.  My struggle growing up has not been with surviving- no, in the culture I was raised, my struggle has been with complacency and apathy.  I must break free from my comfortable middle-class life and strive to attain the ‘voluntary poverty’ that Thoreau exalts.

            Another point Supernova brought up harmonizes with Thoreau’s mindset and hit home with me as well.  He alluded to Matthew 18:3 “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven,” in a way I had never heard before.  He pointed out how much children love and appreciate nature, in a way that many adults have forgotten.  I can remember when I cried because my neighbor limbed a tree that I loved to play in.  This can be seen acted out by Thoreau; how he could sit for hours and just observe nature.  I think that to having a driving passion for anything, you must spend enough time immersed in it to build a lasting love for it that will inspire and motivate you when times get rough.  This can be seen in relationships; usually, the more time you spend with people, the more you love them, and the harder you will fight to make your relationships work.  I’ve experienced this principle in regards to my future.  I want to do engineering in developing countries to give people their basic needs.  I’ve gone on a few short-term missions trips doing this, and when I get settled down and caught up in my comfortable world and tempted by the potential affluence my fellow engineering students speak glowingly of, I draw on those experiences and remember how alive I felt in Guatemala, living simply, living for others. 

            Another performer, a fellow engineer, wrote a poem that sounded as if he was speaking my mind, and from the standing ovation he received, the mind of many other students present.  He spoke of responsible, sustainable engineering, at all costs.  It was encouraging to hear someone with a shared passion and see so many people standing in agreement.  And the final nugget from the poetry slam that resounded with me was from a poem read at the first national environmental awareness conference:  “All true paths lead through mountains.”  The path to solving any great issue is not going to be easy.

            According to Thoreau, we have four basic needs: food, shelter, clothing, and fuel.  I agree.  But how much is enough?  I live a fairly simply life.  It is primarily because I really can’t afford many luxuries, but I have also made a conscious effort to simplify. 

I like Thoreau’s assertion that rather than spending your time working to acquire all that you need, it is preferable to minimize your needs.  I’ve found my greatest pleasure is in the small things, in things that “money can’t buy.”  McKibben discusses the role of simplicity in religion.  The “holy men and women” of every religion have found that simplicity brings you closer to God.  The cool thing about God, though, is that he never gives rules without good reason.  We are called to simplicity not only for its spiritual value, but for its practical physical benefits as well.  Consumerism and excess material possessions have littered our lives and our earth.  I am not saying that everyone should live in a hut and wear the same clothes every day, but I do believe that “enough” is a lot less than what most of us (myself included) do live on currently.  I try to balance how much I spend on myself with how much I spend on other people- the more I give to people that really need it, the less junk I will end up buying for myself.  It is hard to draw the line sometimes between what I want and what I really need, even when it really shouldn’t be hard. 

            Not only is it hard to draw that line between want and need, but it is also hard to know what your true desire is.  We are under a constant barrage of advertising that tries to convince us that we will be happy if we buy more stuff.  People try to satisfy non-material needs with material things.  Consumerism has infected every aspect of life.  Even religion, the most important thing to keep holy and pure, has been hit.  I see so many “bumper sticker Christians” around me that it makes me sick.  They think that living out their faith means advertising it on their cars. 

            In order to know what your true desire is, you must find silence and isolation.  Only then can you think clearly and hear God’s voice.  “What nature provides is scale and context, ways to figure out who and how big we are and what we want.  It provides silence, solitude, darkness…” (McKibben, xix).  I feel the most alive and close to God when I am out in nature.  I think in some form or another we all truly desire success.  However, some people have allowed the world to define success for them, and therefore are fighting a losing battle to achieve it.  They don’t “get away from it all” enough to find the true definition for themselves.  I can see much room for improvement on living sustainably in my own life.  I strive for it, but still struggle with overcoming society’s standards of success in everyday life.