Journal #5 - Worldview

In getting my grandfathers perspective on his generation compared to today, his answer was as I suspected..."las cosas eran mas facil" which means "things were a lot easier". He mentioned how you had to work hard to live but it was much more simple, you simply worked to live, survive and have what you needed. He mentioned that he grew up eating from the crops and animals he planted and cared for along with his dad. Stores were in people's homes and you only went there if you needed something you couldn't make or cultivate yourself. For the most part you sold what you had and bought from what others had, for example, if you had cows you sold the milk or if you had donkeys you carried water from the wells in large jugs to peoples homes. He explained that you learned how to be responsible and care for things, you didn't take the land for granted and you just learned how to live by what you had and at that time the land and animals is all you had.
I then asked him what he thought about today and what he thought his sense of place was. He said that he now feels that he's trapped, he can't just have animals or crops as when he was growing up. Thinks are more complicated and expensive! He said he wishes he could afford a little piece of land where he could have some animals and crops and just live simple as before. I then felt a little sad hearing how excited and proud he felt of his upbringing and now he seemed a little sad of what he no linger has or will more than likely not have again.
This made me realize that just as he felt sad for what he no longer has then maybe one day I will probably feel the same. I wonder how much more destruction we will continue to do and how much we will continue to loose simply because we refuse to make simple changes. Will I one day sit there like my grandpa did and tell the same sad story to my own grandchildren? Now more than ever am I more concerned about what our future will look like and what it will not look like for future generations. This course has opened my eyes and my mind about what we can do to make things better. If we all put our voices together and actions to work we could do so much!
I'm grateful for what I've learned and I will think of what I've learned every time I get ready do something that is not good for our environment. Professor Macbeth, thank you for being passionate about what you do and thank you for being a student at heart and teaching us at the level that we needed to understand it all. its one thing to simply teach, but it means much more when someone really cares and wants to make a differenceand iis actually a part of what their students are doing, like the service learning and field trips....Thank you!