seven generations

I'm all for being comfortable, just not at the expense of others. I was cruising through Barnes and Noble the other night searching for the new issue of Blueprint, when I noticed this lady out of the corner of my eye. At first I was struck simply by her position. She looked like she was vegging out at home with her leg thrown across the chair and a bag of food on her lap. After I found my magazine, I settled into a chair near her and began to draw. It was during this time that I noticed she had spread her belongings out everywhere...her iced coffee, a plate with brownie crumbs, several books and magazines. While I guess this is ok, what appalled me was that when she left, she left all those things just as they were. I guess she could care less that this provided extra work for the employees of the store. I wonder if she's this careless in Barnes and Noble, how she is in real life. In a way I feel like this small incident is just a metaphor for us as humans today. Driving big cars, squandering away fossil fuels, building mcmansions. What are we leaving behind for those that come after us to clean up?

Dan Price writes about the Nex Perce Indians who considered the consequences of their actions seven generations down the line. He writes,"If decisions you're making now would adversely affect future people, you change your plan." While I'm not ready to live as simply as Dan, I do think he and the Nex Perce Indians are onto something.