I recently embarked on a road trip and was subjected to eating fast food for a meal (maybe two or three). Upon entering the place, I saw a family of four routinely sitting down with their trays of food. They acted very comfortable and knew the names of every employee they interacted with; clearly they frequented this fast food chain.
This made me wonder. Do families around America really “go out” to dinner at fast food chains on a regular basis? I glanced over at the menu and added up what their meal probably cost: $6 for the father, $4 for the mother, and two $3 meals for the children. Wow! $16 for what equates to barely a pound of beef (pre-cooked), a considerable amount of french fries and all the soda you can down.
Most American families adhere to a budget. I’m troubled to think that many American families go to fast food restaurants on a…
While the Japanese are far from perfect when it comes to waste in their society, let’s talk about the ancient term Mottainai. The term translates as “a sense of regret concerning waste when the intrinsic value of an object or resource is not properly utilized.” Could this be a synonym for the modern day English term “eco-guilt”? The meanings are similar. The idea behind both terms is similar as well. However, Mottainai is based in Buddhist philosophy and because of its ancient roots, Mottainai goes much deeper than eco-guilt.
The difference is someone adhering to the Buddhist philosophy would get upset to waste something not because they are surrounded by media penetrating the idea that their grandkids will inherit a doomsday like planet based on science from the last few decades. This is fear based, frantic, reactionary choices made by many people today. Mottainai is the idea that you wasted something and should feel remorse because…
