POSSESSED!

The younger generation—Millennials, Gen X, or whatever they are currently calling themselves—may have it right. They rent homes instead of buying them, move around the world as needed for their work, travel widely as students and volunteer workers. They concentrate more on having experiences than on buying possessions, and so they avoid accumulating a lot of heavy furniture and other stuff.

Most of us older people did just the opposite. We bought homes at the first opportunity, happily inherited things from our parents, maxed out credit cards to buy cars and electronics that sometimes lasted only a few years. As a result, at some post-retirement point we are likely to find ourselves burdened with too many belongings, such as large homes that no longer suit our needs. They are hard to clean (or expensive to have cleaned by someone else), have too many steps, require too much outdoor work, and so on. Instead of enjoying retirement, we may spend our days simply taking care of our possessions.  This is hardly “the last of life, for which the first is made”[i]!

Several years ago I downsized from a large home that had an in-law apartment. I loved the house, but couldn’t manage it physically or financially after being widowed. It took a couple of years (when I could have been traveling or otherwise enjoying myself), holding several sales, and becoming an eBay seller, but I finally got rid of a thousand books, my late husband’s various collections, much heavy furniture, and much more. What a relief! My current home is tiny, but has the basic paraphernalia I need, along with some pictures and other things I am saving for sentimental reasons. I am no longer owned by goods. I must confess, though, that I still have a lot of books. There are limits.

When we travel in the RV, life is even simpler, because everything on board must be a much-needed item. Occasionally I miss some of the comforts of home, such as the bathtub. I don’t miss having to clean the tub.

One group of Rvers, the Escapees (SKPs), is composed largely of middle-aged and older members who have gotten away from being held in thrall by their belongings. Many are full-timers who live in their RVs much or all of the time. (I suspect most of them have some things stored in their children’s garages or in storage sheds, though.) The Escapees can be nearly free within our consumer-oriented society.

 

Copyright 2016 by Carol Leth Stone 

 

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[i] From “Rabbi Ben Ezra,” by Robert Browning.

THAT YOUNGER GENERATION

Recent magazine articles have shown some interesting statistics about the millenials. Compared with their parents, young people are driving less and postponing having children for a longer time. Perhaps surprisingly, a smaller percentage of them see themselves as doing anything positive for the environment.

I beg to differ with their self-assessment. While they may be unconscious of their contribution, the constraints imposed by population growth and pollution controls have forced them to have a lifestyle differing from their parents’. By default, they are helping the environment in some ways.

As recently as 20 years ago, getting a driver’s license was an important rite of passage for every teenager. Being able to drive meant freedom! Having a driver’s license and a car, you could get away from home some of the time, go out with your friends, and explore the world without continual adult supervision.  Today, much exploration occurs online, and friends are in near-permanent communication on their cell phones and computers. Driving is much less necessary. Young people even seem to prefer public transportation if it is reasonably priced and convenient. The environmental benefits are obvious: Fewer resources are used for building and fueling cars, and fewer pollutants are being produced. The millenials can be very proud of this change, even if they see it as a personal choice or a necessary evil.

The millenials are staying single longer, too, and living with roommates or their parents for a longer time than we did. By postponing parenthood, which usually leads to having smaller families, they are helping control the population growth that is a major factor in environmental decline. By living in smaller apartments or homes, they are taking up less space on our crowded planet.

Unfortunately, the choices that many of us older people made years ago have resulted in the pollution and crowding that have led to the millenials’ need to be more conserving. We started driving cars as soon as possible, married young, had children in our early twenties, bought homes at the first opportunity and filled them with expensive appliances and furniture. We wasted resources and used fossil fuels with abandon. During the dot-com years, some of us built disgusting McMansions (in fact, some of us are still doing so). We literally ate “high on the hog,” consuming large quantities of the meat that has helped lead to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity; and that required huge investments in agriculture. Many young people today have chosen to become vegetarians rather than imitate us. In that respect as well as others, they are contributing far more to the environment than most of us did.

I do have some concerns about young people. For instance, their dependence on technology in place of direct contact with other people and places seems bad for their emotional health, even if it may benefit the planet. They seem narcissistic, though perhaps young people always seem that way to their elders. On balance, the millenials seem capable of managing Earth better than we did. I wish them well.