Hypermiling: it’s not about the mileage… or saving money at the gas pump either. I think it points to something much, much deeper. A co-worker and I were recently talking about how irritable everyone at school is. Sure, it’s the end of the school year and teachers are a bit frazzled as they complete grading tests; office staff and administrators are more than busy dealing with students who would rather be anywhere… but school.
Yet, it seemed like more than that to us. Something just wasn’t right about the end of school this year. What was it?
The answer was right in front of us: people feel as if they are losing control. It’s not just the skyrocketing gasoline prices on stations everywhere. It’s not the incremental increase of EVERYTHING. The world as many thought they knew it has changed… and few seem to have any confidence that it will ever return.
And what was that world? For many in our country, it was a world of comforts… most taken for grant. It was a world of unacknowledged DEPENDENCIES. Folks had lost sight of just how they depended upon others for even the most fundamental needs in life.
The can-do, bootstrap approach embedded in the American psyche is under assault. Eroding it is a dour powerlessness that is chipping away at the country’s sturdy conviction that destiny can be commanded with sheer courage and perseverance. AP, 22 June 2008
So, hypermiling is about perservering in the face of powerlessness and regaining control of something in life. A very small consolation in a very large stew of challenges facing us now! Are we waking up? Taking control: if the
backyard garden is now becoming more than stylish–it may well be a necessity! Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) supports community, if a person can’t have a backyard garden. Taking control of our lives and becoming more self-sufficient and having faith in each other–this is what we need most right now. I’ve been recording fill-ups on my little Hyundai at 47.9 and 48 miles per gallon in the past few weeks–a small step, but a huge shift in thinking about doing more with less.
This has been on my mind a lot lately, and in preparing my weekly Wednesday morning Communion Service homily on the day’s readings, the Holy Spirit urged me to consider what I already had learned early in life but had set aside: that self-sufficiency is an attribute to cherish; that community–particularly local community–is a prize that we too often look right past.
As Jesus spoke to the twelve, he urged them to “be on your guard against false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but underneath are wolves on the prowl.” [Mt 7:15] He tells them that “you will know them by their deeds” and then gives the lesson of the fruit tree… the title of today’s post. [Mt. 7:15-20]
I truly believe that any sound tree bears good fruit and that there is much about our country… our world, that is sound. But we have also been looking head on at decay and not seeing it for what it is. We have been listening to voices that convince us to consume… consume… consume. These are the voices of the false prophets. Time to turn aside from their empty words and return to the essentials: holding our neighbors in the highest regard and loving them despite their failings. Now is the time to be working together… not the time to be clamoring for scarce resources.
Today I’m “officially” launching Men Praying, an Advent program of prayer for men in our Roman Catholic Community in Norwich, New York. We’ll be gathering tonight to begin praying the Liturgy of the Hours, the sacred prayer of the Church offered every minute, of every hour, everyday 24/7 by ordained ministers, religious and laity worldwide.
Pete are discussing. 
Great post!