Let's Pretend

Remember when you were a kid, and you used to play all those make-believe games? Cops and robbers, tea party, "doctor," knights and dragons, remember those? How cool was it to make up your own rules, be in charge, play your own game? I've got a new game for grownups called "Let's Pretend," and it starts like this:

Pretend you are not civilized. Pretend you love the land where you live. Pretend you were never taught to value economic production over life, or pretend you unlearned this. Pretend you were never taught that everyone else is here for you to use, or pretend you unlearned this. Pretend you do not feel entitled to take from those around you. Pretend you know that someday you will die.

-from Derrick Jensen's Endgame

Wouldn't it be wonderful to just throw away "conventional wisdom," to throw away all of the bullshit and stereotypes and rules of modern behavior, and, for once, as adults, realize that you actually are in charge, that you make your own rules, and that you don't have to conform to whatever it is that you think society expects of you? Wouldn't it be nice to start each day with joy instead of fear, knowing that no one else can decide for you except you? How refreshing would it be if everyone woke up one morning with the realization of both their significance and their insignificance in the scheme of things, and acted accordingly? What if we gave up selfishness and greed and prejudice and suddenly grasped the concept that we're all in this together, and that it truly is better to give than to receive? How much of your worldview is dependent on fear and hate, and how would you think differently unencumbered by those negative emotions? Yeah, I know, I'm a dirty fucking hippie and no one listens to me, but you know, I'd like to see what would happen if we all just tried, for one day, to play this little game of Let's Pretend.