I guess I'm really only thinking about one variety of human greed, which makes that title a bit of a misnomer, but what the heck, it's my blog. I was thinking about this while blow drying my hair just now.

So, it's starts with the idea of the nitty gritty of everyday life. Described variously by authors throughout our history as the machine, the weary procession of the mundane, the dirty details, and so forth, it's really what drags us all down; that procession of bills, housing, the need for subsistence, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning ourselves and our surroundings, turning hard bought food into a meal then into waste, bureaucracy, taxes, health care, auto maintenance - all those things none of us would mention when asked what we do, even though they absorb the bulk of our material and ephemeral resources.

The point: we all (gross generalization, but what do you want? maybe some of us really just want bunnies instead. that's okay.) want to be free of these things. This, we think, would enable us to devote ourselves wholly to our 'true passions,' 'callings,' destinies,' and whatever other lofty bullshit we'd like to claim. Hence, greed.

How does that work? Because if we only had just a bit (slash boatload) more money, then we wouldn't have to spend so much time worrying about these things. We could eat out, hire someone, buy the perfect product to deal with whatever - if only we had a bit more... The real problem here I reckon, is how this can twist even generally non-materially oriented people into greed. Read: I want to save the world! If only I didn't have to work to pay my hydro bill, I could finally (feed starving orphans, reform the WTO, end the arms race, save fluffy seals, whatev.) Well, I guess that means I need more money... Sad, really.

Personally, I say no. It's not that I think I begrudge the muck of daily life any less than anyone else, but I have come to think that there is something noble in paper work, bowels, chopping vegetables. These are the collective human experience. They are what a human life is really composed of and what we as people do! To strive beyond the confines of one's life is surely human, but to actually be able to do so is a luxury. Repeat LUXURY. To think of it otherwise cheapens the fragile nobility of the day-to-day existence of us wee Homo Sapiens.

Strive for art, but don't overlook the joy of a meal cooked with love (or chillies). Aim to elevate the discourse, but don't forget the beauty of just being able to speak. Life is what we do.

...back to attacking the soggy hair.