I agree with a lot of what's being said. I'd still propogate some sort of balance though. It's dangerous to live only for the moment. That Mexican fisherman could enjoy his kids but I bet he couldn't afford to get any of them treated were they to fall ill. That's never cool.

Of course it might as well be just as dangerous to become consumed in that which is not life. I guess that phrase "Work to live. Don't live to work." applies here.

It's interesting what Trancer-X mentioned about his grandfather. I pretty much have the same situation with my own father. I think though that in the case of a parent it might be more about sacrificing your own time on earth so that your offspring may be able to make more of their own experience than you did.

Being productive is in our nature. It's fairly difficult to do nothing and not become depressed. Having a sense of utility is what drives us as beings. I would make time to either do something you enjoy or if that's still too much like working, then I'd make some kind of down-time.

Personally, on weekends or during the week when I have free time I tend to take long walks around the city. It seems like I find something new every time and even having lived here almost my whole life, there's plenty that I haven't explored. Plus it kind of gives me a chance to clear my mind of things and focus on smelling the roses so to speak. It took me until about the age of 20 or 21 before I actually began to marvel at Times Square. All those years I was so focused on where I was going. I never really bothered to look up. Now when I walk around, wherever I am, I try to take in my sorroundings as much as I can. Until recently I'd even bring my camera around with me and take random pics.

Now it's about 60 degrees. It's a pretty nice day albiet the clouds. I'd personally like to take a walk around Union Sq/Astor Place area. It would be a nice trip from where I am way up in the Bx. I'm probably gonna be at work in an hour and stay until midnight. I have the option of not going in until 6pm though. It definatey bothers me that I have to watch the sun set from behind the glass office windows. Is the money really worth missing out on the day? I can't really fully answer that but I definately do make time for chillin and hanging out and Spirit and Crobar and Made @ Central Park etc.

If you're feeling like there's too much on your plate then there probably is. I don't think there's anything wrong with lightening one's load, plus the years won't go by so fast.

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quote:

Originally posted by illmaticnyc i find it depressing that most of us spend more time with our coworkers than we do with our families and friends. and that we work our wholel ives for what. to sustain things like a house? cars?

Try going out of town for weeks at a time and working 80-100 hour weeks while you're away. Then you'll understand the concept of seeing co-workers more than your friends and family.

I have been leaving work earlier for the past few months, but when work picks up (like it's started to the past week or so), the amount of time I spend at work sucks. To compound it, my girlfriend, who I do love a lot and enjoy spending time with, makes me feels like all of my time outside work should be with her. Between the work hours and the time with her, I don't have time for myself. The other night I told her not to come over, so I got home from work at like 8:30 and just sat and played video games all night. It was actually pretty relaxing not having to fulfill someone else's expectations for a few hours.

And yeah, the last 3 years since I've moved here have flown by.

I'd still pick this over the hunter-gatherer lifestyle of the Mexican fisherman, though. He's living worse than paycheck to paycheck. If he doesn't meet his deadlines for catching fish, he'll die. Unlike the fisherman, the Harvard MBA who wants to retire and have the life of the fisherman does have savings in his retirement and a back-up plan in case his fishing lifestyle fails. He won't care if he doesn't catch fish, he'll just buy them from someone who did catch them. The other point to consider is with the amount of people in this world, if everyone tried to live by the hunter-gatherer lifestyle, we'd run out of things to hunt and gather.

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quote:

Originally posted by Groundhog Boy Try going out of town for weeks at a time and working 80-100 hour weeks while you're away. Then you'll understand the concept of seeing co-workers more than your friends and family. I have been leaving work earlier for the past few months, but when work picks up (like it's started to the past week or so), the amount of time I spend at work sucks. To compound it, my girlfriend, who I do love a lot and enjoy spending time with, makes me feels like all of my time outside work should be with her. Between the work hours and the time with her, I don't have time for myself. The other night I told her not to come over, so I got home from work at like 8:30 and just sat and played video games all night. It was actually pretty relaxing not having to fulfill someone else's expectations for a few hours. And yeah, the last 3 years since I've moved here have flown by. I'd still pick this over the hunter-gatherer lifestyle of the Mexican fisherman, though. He's living worse than paycheck to paycheck. If he doesn't meet his deadlines for catching fish, he'll die. Unlike the fisherman, the Harvard MBA who wants to retire and have the life of the fisherman does have savings in his retirement and a back-up plan in case his fishing lifestyle fails. He won't care if he doesn't catch fish, he'll just buy them from someone who did catch them. The other point to consider is with the amount of people in this world, if everyone tried to live by the hunter-gatherer lifestyle, we'd run out of things to hunt and gather.

i have worked and done that. was in texas on a site working 7 days from 4am till 12am every day. 140 hr work weeks. depressing. yes. definitely.
as for your gf...i was in the same deal. i cut her off. lifes much better. girls need to understand us guys need time to ourselves. guys need to understand that too about their women. such is life thoguh right?

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quote:

Originally posted by Groundhog Boy I'd still pick this over the hunter-gatherer lifestyle of the Mexican fisherman, though. He's living worse than paycheck to paycheck. If he doesn't meet his deadlines for catching fish, he'll die. Unlike the fisherman, the Harvard MBA who wants to retire and have the life of the fisherman does have savings in his retirement and a back-up plan in case his fishing lifestyle fails. He won't care if he doesn't catch fish, he'll just buy them from someone who did catch them. The other point to consider is with the amount of people in this world, if everyone tried to live by the hunter-gatherer lifestyle, we'd run out of things to hunt and gather.

I think you're reading too much into that story...

I mean the point isn't figuring out whether the fisherman's life is better than the mba's or not. It's about realizing that in the end this whole lifestyle that we live is kind of ridiculous.

quote:

Originally posted by Choobak I think you're reading too much into that story... It's about realizing that in the end this whole lifestyle that we live is kind of ridiculous.

i agree...i turned 23 a month ago and i keep getting surprised at just how fast time has been passin by since i left college and started workin the daily grind (9 - 5, 5 days a week, workin in a cubicle)...and i dont even really like my job, i just see it as something im doin right now until i either go back for grad school or find something im really passionate about...so its a tough transition period at times...im content with earning a steady paycheck and being able to support myself but i also have a lot more ambition and frequently get frustrated that im not actively moving onto the "next" stage of my life, regardless of what it might be..maybe its impatience...just got to learn to savor the smaller, finer luxuries in life i guess and slow down with everything (smokin a bowl def helps me pause and not take things to seriously a lot of times )

consumerism, materialism, whatever you call it...has definitely impacted a generation of kids negatively, depending on how much one "buys" into the culture...but in the end, America is still a place where we have a fair amount of freedom to do what we want if we really want to(and will hopefully remain that way).

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quote:

Originally posted by ride^snowboards im just saying (a day later) that, under the pressures of deadlines (yesterday), realization smacked me in the face, that my world is full of priorities, responsibilities, deadlines, with the focus on success. i constantly create those mentioned in order to be productive. i think i fear being unproductive as it makes me feel useless. maybe some people have less "drive" or reason to be the way they are, for me it's the crutch of my life. i can't stand being stagnant, so i load my life up with things-to-do, then i realize i've obligated myself to so many things that i just want to not do any of them at all [insert - "baby steps, baby steps"].

I try to look at the big picture. In terms of the big picture, how are you actually being productive? Are you actually doing something that will benefit the world as a whole or are you simply doing enough busy work to make you feel like you're not being stagnant?

The way I see it, we are all rapidly accelerating the environmental destruction of our planet through our wasteful greed and lascivious materialism - something that will lead to the downfall of our own species at one point or another.

I mean, is it considered progress for all of us to be complicit in destroying our environment and many of it's diverse ecosystems which were once teeming with life? Is it progress that we are the biggest consumers of sweatshop manufactured goods, where woman and children make only pennies a day on which they can barely subsist? Is it progress that people are ever increasingly becoming self-seeking egocentrics because of this cutthroat competitive system that we have in place? I could go on and on...

In reality, all of what you're feeling is just a mental state which you have been trapped into. Your mindset is basically trapping you in your own little Matrix.