Reading to Accompany Today's Blog:
Prologue and Chapter One of "The Wizard and the Prophet" by Charles C. Mann
In "The Wizard and the Prophet," Mann explores the lives of William Vogt and Norman Borlaug as they navigate two very separate views on how we should approach environmental issues. Vogt, a proponent of minimizing our impact through means such as cutting back on our meat intake as well as changing what we farm, is referred to as "the prophet." Referred to by Mann as "the wizard," Borlaug believed the solution to our environmental problems was to use our technological savviness to mend what we have broken and to create more efficient ways to produce what we currently use to live.
As much as I love a good book summary, that isn't what this is. Instead I will be focusing on one idea from the first couple sections in this book. As many parents do, Mann reflects on what the world will look like for his daughter. He refers to studies concluding that by 2050 the world's population will hit 10 billion, and at this time, quite a bit of the population will be considered "middle class." Mann predicts that the majority of the population will want (and attain) "jobs, homes, cars, fancy electronics, and a few occasional treats" (4). Mann reflects on the implications of this. He wonders how the future generations will manage to provide all of these assets, "billions of occasional treats" (5).
When I read this, my mind did not immediately go where Mann's did; that is, to Vogt and Borlaug and their contrasting opinions on how to approach the way we live. Instead, I began to think on the idea of a treat. The implication of Mann's description of a treat is that it would be a material item with some sort of alternative benefit outside of the realm of necessity or survival. While Man, Borlaug, and Vogt are all concerned with how to obtain treats that meet this description, I cannot help but wonder if the solution actually revolves around a revision of the word's meaning.
It may be possible to dial back the way we live our lives. To eat less meat, to be conscious of how we get from place to place, or the amount of waste we produce would all fit under the umbrella term of prophets. Likewise, it may also be possible to fund technology and to develop ways to produce more products faster and more efficiently than before. This would fit under the term of wizards. What these solutions both focus on is how to save our planet while also meeting our perceived needs and wants for a fulfilling life. Alternatively, something I think could use our focus is how we define a fulfilling life.
There are many ways to define a treat. Synonyms may be: a bonus, gift, or surprise. If I asked some "wizards" today to define a treat, they may list a new phone, computer, or car. Something that has been developed to make life more efficient. If I asked a "prophet" to define a treat, they may list a reusable water bottle, veggies from the farmer's market, or a bike. While both of these ideas of treats seem very different, they all are actually similar because each thing must be purchased.
All of the treats I listed are helpful in their own ways and have played crucial roles in how humans live their lives today. However, what if we defined treats in a different way? For instance, what if the butterfly that flies in front of your window is a treat? You didn't expect it, it came as a happy surprise, and it occurred without the need for consumption. Or, what if the rain that formed puddles you stomped in on your way to your car was a treat? A momentary relief from the monotony of your usual morning trek to your car.
I think maybe if we defined treats in this way, we wouldn't feel the need to always have something bigger, better, more expensive, more efficient. Instead, maybe we could have what makes its way to us. Yes, have what you need. Yes, indulge in things that make life a little lighter. But, also consider that the things you're purchasing or investing in or yearning for are things that are designed to feel slightly unattainable and exclusive. Consider what life would be if the things we sought after in this life were also the things that occurred naturally. The flower on the side of the road, the rain on a rooftop, the caterpillar on a tomato in the garden. The earth is always putting treats in your path, even when you are surrounded by human inventions. Let us seek those moments out and count them as wins just the same, or even more than, something we could find on the shelf at Target.