I was thinking of our fuel crisis and I've decided to be an optimist about the whole thing.
We need to look at the tank is half-full, not half-empty.
I've been in local businesses and I've seen local communities loose their identity. They lost their identity, because entertainment and creativity were designated to other cities. Little old Allegan, Michigan didn't have the galleries and museums that Grand Rapids or Kalamazoo had, and no one seriously thought about maintain galleries in Allegan because those bigger cities had them, and they were only a short drive away.
These bigger cities also had a mall and Starbuckses galore, so why get espresso drinks around town? You'd have to put up with something unfamiliar, something not from a chain, something not predictable. This is part of the reason why cafés in Allegan sunk. People didn't see them a beneficial and creative part of their community. Cafés were an afterthought, just like galleries, and museums.
With the gas pinch, rural America and small towns are still slow to realize that they need to look inward. I pray for the day when small communities will foster creativity again. I dream of a day when a grassroot renaissance where people realize there is more to their neighbors that they previously thought.
Growing up, I always thought Allegan was beautiful. There were rolling hills lined with corn and grains, woods with grand expressions of foliage and nooks to sneak into, lakes to gaze at, plenty of horizons designed to receive sunsets perfectly, and ponds to pondering alongside of.
I found plenty of fodder for creativity. Fodder put toward drawing, sketching, and doodling, even praying. Many people who know me appreciate my art, but many seem to always pose the question "but what good is it?" They say it to all the other Allegan artists as well. Maybe a with a gas pinch people will go to art shows in Allegan and small towns like it. Maybe people will understand that there have been artists next door modestly lying in wait for someone to share their talent with.
It'll also be good for us to settle down and discover a simpler lifestyle. One centered around the home and around family. A time for us to drop the apian fantasy of buzzing from one flower of entertainment to another, lapping up sweetness for a time, only to look for another far off fix. Creativity is not unattainable. Imagination is not restricted to lands afar. It's all close to home, but just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to foster it's own identity and creativity.
I understand people still need to commute to work and visit family far away for now, but I have hope in the future of infrastructure. I'm confident auto manufactuors and civil engineers will discover new ways for us to travel vast distances and experience all that the world has to offer. But maybe this is lull is to be welcomed as a learning experience. Perhaps we'll learn to savor people and opportunities around us, before we go back to the hustle and bustle we've become accustomed to.
Just my first jumbled thought,
Sam
