Northern Arizona University/Environmental Ethics/Journals/The Thinkers and the Workers

Looking out onto the blanket of trees that cover my neighborhood I see a diversity of botany. From what I can tell I see the Quaking (Snowbowl) Aspens, Acacia Greggiis, Acer Negundo (Maple), and a few Mesquites that have migrated to the residential area of my viewpoint. On the edges of town there are coniferous pines that line the mountain sides. I wonder if these old-time natives mind not being in the middle of all the blaring horns, machinery, and mayhem? Funny how one species gets pushed aside for another. Who really benefits and who really suffers?

This town of Flagstaff is new to me on many levels. People seem to live a simpler lifestyle than what I'm used to back in Southern California. People seem to genuinely be happy living at a slower rate than one would see in any metropolitan area. My neighbors are not work-a-holics who spend most of their time trying to get ahead, they simply maintain. This observance made me think of how our society is run. In a very general sense there are three kinds of workers and three kinds of thinkers. I'll note the former first. The workers of the world seem to spend their time either working for something in the future, functioning as maintenance in the present, or decaying their surroundings by being hung up on something in their past. The 'futurists' are very focused on working hard to make it to the end of the day or the end of the week or the end of the month or the end of the year. They are constantly fixated on future events and do not really take each moment in life as it arises as a means to see what is in front of them. It's always just around the corner. These workers often miss real opportunity for growth because real growth is not simply focusing on the future but taking all aspects of time as we know it (past, present, and future) and building off of that. Those that maintain usually are very grounded people in that they know very well what is going on in the present moment because part of maintaining or playing the role of maintenance entails making sure that a system works and is functioning properly. These people also tend to fall short on insight because they have no ambition for change or movement outside of the proverbial 'box' that they work hard to preserve. The third type of worker the "decayer" often diminishes their work and surroundings because they are focused on a memory or the remnants of past success or failure.

There are also the thinkers which somewhat resemble the workers but vary in operation. Those that are the "growers" are always thinking of the next step. In an almost compulsory way, these individuals make moves based on their vision of the future. Much like the workers it's always about what could be and never resting on what is. The "in-the-now" thinkers dissolve all constructs of what was and what might be. They truly live life in the moment without thought of regret or consequence. And finally there are those who have a somewhat delayed effect in that they seem to look at life after it passes them. These types of people often drive while looking through their rear-view mirror.

As I look out over the blanket of trees that cover my neighborhood I think of how one "species" of humans gets pushed aside for another. Who really benefits and who really suffers?