I feel entitled that I should be able to sit in silence and read when that's what I want to do and at the same time, I feel entitled that if I should be done reading, that I should be allowed to play music as loud as I want with the bass from the sub-woofer shaking the walls and vibrating the floor boards so that I can feel it resonating through my chest.
We live in a culture that feels entitled. There's no way around it. There are many different stats out there about how much land it takes to be a vegan vs. being a vegetarian vs. being a meat eater. And there can be debate what the actual ratio numbers actually are. I'm not here to debate those values. I wanted to document the interesting thing that happened in my head when I found out how much I was "saving" the world in my measly short month of being a "vegan". I asked in an entitled manner if that meant that I could take longer showers. Or does that mean I can buy a Hummer and just idle it in the driveway? My initial thought was that it wasn't fair. That other people were taking my share of the earth and that I needed to mark my territory by using up my share in another manner if it wasn't through eating meat. It's such a silly thought and the beginning of the end for all of us.
I've been reading more lately since I re-discovered the public library earlier this week. I've already read two books this week. The second book was The Opposite of Loneliness where the titular essay in the book says that there's no good word for the opposite of loneliness. That love or community don't really work perfectly but it's the feeling she wants around her all the time and something she wants for the world. The opposite of entitlement is gratitude. Sorry this is late for Canadian and US Thanksgiving. Sitting down and writing has been harder than anticipated. Peace out.
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