As a first world country, Australians experience a high quality of life. Yet everybody suffers and hurts, and could our experience of suffering, through illness, abuse, loss, break-up, poverty, discrimination, fear etc be put into a different framework where it is recognised for what it can bring and enable, individually and on a bigger scale? The biggest national identities of white Australia seem to be based on and through hardship and suffering.

I wonder how much the western world’s pursuit for economic growth, personal wealth and status ultimately has an impact on our levels of happiness, mental illness and capacity to generally have little empathy for others, even just on a day-to-day level between mates. Or is this just human nature? Are we fundamentally greedy bastards?

I’m genuinely curious!! Do we start to realise our own existence at the age of 7? For some, never? Or are we conscious even within the womb?

Inspired by Rebecca Solnit’s The Mother of All Questions in Harper’s, and my own wondering if ‘happiness’ is really the best word to describe what we all are/should be looking for.

How is it that humans can experience such strong, conflicting, emotions at once? Does everyone experience this? Is it possible to pay attention to just one?

Most of today’s global problems originate in the competitive foundation of the current economic, political paradigm. We will never realise humanity’s highest goals unless we learn to start from a different place in thinking about the “system” we live within.

I thought it was interesting.

We largely ignore the thoughts and ideas of children, when they are active participants in their cities and towns. Children have their own culture, and histories. They have more time to observe, make lateral connections, and have a heightened sensory perception. They have such valuable input and are shamefully undervalued in conversations, which have a direct impact on their environment. I fear that the absence of their voices in the planning and analysis of our social infrastructure is to our detriment as a society.

Because not only does all the noise drive me mad (I am currently living across the road from a new building site) but constant, irritating noise can affect peoples health. e.g. leaf blowers make we want to commit murder and that would be very unhealthy for at least two of us!

Most of us work because it facilitates us being paid, which affords us the ability to live. Some few people manage to pursue passions, vocations and the like. Others make different valuable contributions to society. What is necessary about working – is there a different model of enough where people can live well and contribute to a collective society without it being reduced to the *need* and *imperative* to have a job and be paid. What if there were other ways?

Because I know far too many asexual people damaged by prejudice and discrimination not only in everyday life, but by health professionals attempt to ‘cure’ their natural sexual orientation.

The underpinnings of our civilisation are based on an untenable premise.