In the post-apocalyptic movie, The Book of Eli, Eli says, “People had more than they needed. We had no idea what was precious, what wasn’t. We threw away things people kill each other for now.”

Most of what we are taught in American society is the motto, “Buy now and save for retirement later.” We are, from a very young age, conditioned into the well-tread path of consumption, material possessions to support our perceived self-worth, egoism and vanity, and a wealth of meaningless advertisements luring us to buy meaningless products.

When we feel down and out, let us buy a new shirt, rent a movie, have a nice dinner at a nice restaurant. The more we can numb ourselves, the less we will really feel.

And what is it that we really feel? We know, deep down in our very essence, that this life of consume, produce, consume, produce, will never end. If it never ends, how are we supposed to save ourselves?

The answer is, and always has been, us. We are the only ones that can stop ourselves from staying within the cycle, of living, breathing and dying by it.

There are no easy fixes to a deeply ingrained societal and psychological malaise that has inflicted us. When our entire economy is driven by a false sense of security and false promises, it is no wonder that sooner or later, it all comes crashing down, like a house of cards.

A house of cards may look pretty but there is no substantial foundation underneath it. A slight breeze, and it falls. And not just one side of it, or the ceiling, or the front door. But the entire thing comes crashing down.

The house of cards is us. We have crashed. And we are in pieces, apart from ourselves. The only way to save ourselves is ourselves.

Stand up to build yourself a new house. A house made of brick and mortar. A house that needs no lies in order to sustain its livelihood. A house that will not be shaken when a breeze passes through. A house that was meant to last through generations.

This is the house we were made to build and live in. This is how we know life is precious.

When we no longer believe in the lies we’ve told ourselves, we can start to uncover our eyes and see the Truth that’s been here all along.