I am not the most read person in the world, but when I think about some of the problems we are having today, in particular the economy, I can't help but think that much of this stagnation is unavoidable and was inevitable.

Decades of living beyond our means as a society under the shady practices of wealthy elites (of which the masses are ignorantly complicit) lead to a "burst bubble" that suddenly has brought a "perceived wealth" to a "real wealth" (or lack thereof).

Since September of 2008, the dust has continued to settle. What strikes me is the urgency that many Americans feel about this recession, when they don't seem to see that the entire world economy is experiencing nearly the same thing at the same time. The problem is so much bigger and nuanced than any one nation.

This is not to give any politician or party a "free ride" in this. A policy is a policy, after all, and some policies may work better than others. I personally am of the mind that government spending is not the devil, and in this case kept us from completely collapsing.

Still, I think a lot of the fear and anxiety people are feeling is a sense that, things won't or can't be how they were before. Maybe that is for the better? The less we rely on material things to make us happy, the more we may find happiness in each other. The earth has a much longer history, and a healthier one, living this way.

Some may see that as a weakness. As a concession to recession or depression (sorry, had to rhyme). But I feel that there is a tremendous strength in humility. There are many answers in simplicity. And if I were a scholar, I might provide links and references to both religious and secular traditions that have backed up that claim through the ages.