Mornings start with uppers—”I’m no good before my first cup of coffee!” And continue during the day—java, tea, cola, energy drinks. You need to mediate the crash each time an upper wears out; it’s done with more uppers. Later in the evening, it’s on to the downers—”What a day, I need a drink!” A beer after work, a glass of wine with dinner, a scotch after, so on. You’re too wired/tired to sleep. Bedtime nears midnight or later; the alarm goes off at six. Back to the uppers.
We need the uppers to survive work, where we spend the majority of our time, because work defines us, and pays us money so we can have “quality” time with those we claim to love most of all.
Coffee is the second largest traded commodity internationally—some qualify that as second largest legally traded commodity to note that drugs like cocaine, heroin and marijuana are also major businesses. And they along with coffee and oil are at the root of many injustices, wars, pure greed and mean – spiritedness. But, we need our uppers. And our downers.
And our techs, apparently. Forget the slave camps, the human rights violations; get me my iTechs; let us worship the iGod. If only we could bring our iPads and coffee to church—my, my, wouldn’t that be perfect? We could, of course, sit in our idling cars with our coffee and iTech at the drive – in church. What would that church possibly worship with all those idols at hand?
Addictions. So many addictions. The greatest of which is social norm: To be accepted.
Social polity dictates we must shampoo every day to maintain a natural look. This dries out the hair, so you add a conditioner. Take away the natural oils, add the fake oils. Same with skin: soap soap soap and then moisturize moisturize moisturize. Same with teeth—for the fear of having a medieval mouth, wear away the enamel and replace it with synthetic enamel. There is a subtle art to vanities and most of us have mastered its many shadings. How to fake being natural, which is a fake standard of natural because the real natural is rough and stinky. Perfumes were invented not to add a flavour but to cover an odour. The natural odour that is our body.
Nature seems to be the problem. From weeds in the garden to dust in the house, nature in all of its manifestations is messing with our civilized order. You can’t flip through a magazine, other than this one, or watch TV or listen to the radio, without some reminder that nature is the natural enemy. Lawns are constantly under attack; as are decks and walkways, stone paths, roofs. Insects crawl into houses; destroy non – native flowers and plants. And as any gardener knows, gardening has little to do with nature, but with control; bending the will of the wild to a careful design.
Bending the wild—bring an animal into the house and there is the battle to control their animalness.
They shed. They stink. They don’t know how to flush the toilet. Luckily there are gimmicks and chemicals and training methods and if all that fails, breeding techniques, to control all that.
Then the chemicals accumulate, not just from pets, but from controlling insects and nature, and cleaning things around the house, including the car.
So many idols. So many passive, pleasant idols that nudge away at us. What you gonna do? Well, maybe first grab the morning Joe.
