A Shrinking Of Boundaries And Freedom

I sometimes wonder if, after reaching a certain age - and I suspect it is different for all people - there comes a point where the larger boundaries of the world start to shrink.  It is measured, I suspect, by the reduction of certain kinds of boundaries and goals in one's life.

In some ways - real ways - it is a recognition that at 50 or 60, one's physical apparatus is not quite the same - yes, there is much that can be done (that many of us do not do) to keep ourselves in the best shape possible for our age, but the reality is that things like knees and backs become more important to be preserved as they are rather than stretched to the point of failure in the pursuit of the marathon we mayhap will never complete or the obstacle course we never quite finished.

No, what I am speaking of is the realization of other boundaries - yes, some physical but some also mental and spiritual - that fall by the wayside or are reduced in scope and content.

The man who started his career believing he was called to be a pastor, then a leader, and now comes to realize that he is simply happy being a member of a church where the Gospel is preached - or even being satisfied with a certain form of anchorite lifestyle where he is alone with God.  The woman who has always wanted to travel all around and comes to realize that a small section of land and wilderness, well known and cared for, is all the adventure that they need.  The finding of five new things to study instead of fifty; the realization that having enough to have a comfortable but not extravagant lifestyle to life a quiet and productive life outweighs all the money in the world.

This is precisely not what the world wants (or, sometimes, the Church I think):  we need to be hyperactively involved in the matters of the day, spending as fast as the money comes in, always looking outward and constantly dis-satisfied, always on the edge of our seat in terror or fear of the next great emergency or society' disfavor.

Why?  Because the System - and by system I mean the way that we conduct our lives, so many manners of social interaction be they political, social, religious, or even familial - depend on it.  Without us constantly spending, constantly stressing, constantly in turmoil and fear, the whole thing eventually falls apart.

I wonder - maybe I am a dreamer in this sense - if at some point not just me, not just hundreds, but thousands or tens of thousands start to actively think and live this way.  What would that society look like, a society where people live within their own means, are not seeking the extremes in everything, and are actual content with a rather simple lifestyle?

To many, it would look like a collapse of Western Capitalistic civilization, which it (on the face of it) might represent.

To everyone who lived that way, it would appear that the insanity had finally ended and life - meaningful life - could begin again.