It’s time we claim our birthright!

What does it take for us to be truly free in this world? I don’t know but I will go for it anyway…

If we want to change the world for the better, we must look at our consumption.

Period.

From the music we download to the subscriptions we hold but never use, and of course all the physical things we have in our life.

Clothes, furniture, food, transportation, sports equipment, crystals, toys, gadgets. How much of it do we truly need?

What does it take for us to thrive?

What does it take for us to feel alive?

Usually, the answer to these questions are not material things, but more time spent doing the things that are dear and important to us. Like rest and playtime. Like cooking nourishing meals for our family. Like taking care of our belongings instead of constantly buying new things.

We all have different things, physical and non-material, that make us feel good, and it’s a good idea to know what they are. It’s essential knowledge when it comes to standing up against the forces that want us to constantly consume more.

If we want to ‘safe the World’ we need to safe ourselves from the hungry ghost. Which is, yes, at a big scale fed by outside forces, but nevertheless is to be found on the inside of each one of us. We (in the Western World) were born into a world where more is always better. Where the more we achieve and the more we have, the better we are.

I live in Guatemala now, and the Mayan people is a very big inspiration to me. The way people still live according to their birthright is awe inspiring. The water, the food and the natural resources for homes and heat are right at hand and accessible to all here. The fish in the lake, the avocados on the trees, the firewood in the (plentiful) forests, straw for roofs and different other sorts of natural materials for building – they are all at the disposal of those whose hands are free to go out and collect them.

Noone asks you to get a building permission to build a home. When we ask our local friends about these matters, and explain how things are in the west, they think we are crazy. How can anyone say no, if you want to make a home? (A home here is very often just 4 walls and a roof + a fire to cook on).

Basically, everyone here is self-employed. Cash is king and makes the resources in the form of foods, materials and helping hands flow freely between those who have and those who need something.

I have not met a single person who seemed stressed. Quite the opposite, I feel I am being offered help out of the blue several times each day. The warmth and kindness of the Mayan people is really extraordinarily powerful medicine to someone who got chewed up so effectively by the Swedish ways. It is said that we are so resourceful in Scandinavia, but when it comes to being kind to each other, I am not impressed. We are, generally, all completely overwhelmed by all the obligations we must meet, constantly.

We have to work so hard to pay for all the things we are told we can’t live without (and which is true, it does take a certain amount of income to even exist in Scandinavia). We have to pay taxes on what we earn, and taxes on taxed goods, so we can make sure the school system, the medical industry and the war machine all get their share of our life force energy and time here on Earth. We rush our kids off to school and rush ourselves around all day to not pick them up too late, another day gone, a new cycle starts the next day.

Here, it’s different. Here, only the large companies pay taxes. It works because the social security network is mainly the community, and because government officials are limited (to just explain it super briefly).

When I look at the simple way the Mayan people live, I know I see true sustainability. I see villages full of family members in all ages, who help each other out. I see people walking by foot or taking public transportation mainly. I see them eating real food grown outside and sold fresh at the market every day. I see them living lives that are free of stress, out in the sun most of the day. I notice how newspapers, magazines and flashy store fronts don’t exist here.

I notice how things get used and repaired until they fall apart (also the vehicles). How most everyday items like clothes, furniture and kitchen utensils are made by hand and bought directly from the craftsmen.

In the West we think that sustainability is about something we can buy and invest in. Like solar panels, windmills and CO2 quota. I think this is nothing but one big scam. Follow the money and you will know what I mean.

True sustainability does need some new structures around certain things, for sure, but first and foremost it will come by itself when people are free again.  

When we are no longer chained to the production machine that needs us to stay enslaved and scared of how to pay our next rent or get food on the table.

When we take back our birthright, to just be on this planet and live off the natural resources that were always meant for everyone to share, respectfully and with gratitude.

This is when we will be free.

How and when will this happen?

It will happen the moment we claim it. When we finally say that enough is enough. When we wake up from the slumber and see how enslaved we are.

When we rise and say, ‘no more’.

Maybe it seems vague and scary. We want to know what comes after this reaction.

And I’m not lying. As someone who reached that point and made that promise to myself, I can document that it’s going to be a hell of a ride down a wild river.

I am in that river right now, and I look forward to getting to the other side, where my feet have found a new stable foundation.

But I know that only by believing the other side exists, will I reach it.

My goal is freedom. My goal is to be able to use my birthright. My goal is that we all can use our birthright. To be here on this planet equal, happy, fed, safe and free.

This is what I get up for in the morning.

Freedom for all is the prayer that keeps me going when things get tough.

Let me know if you’re with me.