It’s easy to posit that there are things we don’t need to do anymore. Things that 100 years ago were commonplace can be bought from someone more expert than ourselves.Think minor car maintenance. Or home cleaning. Or bread baking. Or most cooking, for that matter.

But life is not only about economic transactions. It’s not only a case of being a good worker bee, money coming in one hand and going out the other. We’re not bankers. We’re not virtual beings. We’re real, live, and physical. We’re free people, families, churches, neighborhoods, and communities.

Getting your hands involved in your life is good. There are dozens of forces that want you disengaged in existence. Fight against those forces.

The good news is that in our time, we have the means to learn these things. Your mom didn’t teach you how to bake bread? Well, watch a couple of videos, and start experimenting. Your first couple of times will probably be less than stellar (I’ve been a twice weekly bread baker for over 40 years) but the results will probably be edible and maybe even really good. And the learning curve can be surprisingly fast.

Bread’s just an example, of course. But whatever the task, find something to take back your life from the corporate interests that want you to be a kind of cog. Your life will be better in so many ways. And as you and others reclaim those areas of life, our neighborhoods and communities will improve. You really can change the world.