"Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live."I read it not as the simplistic-seeming statement it may or may not be, but as a life philosophy.
- Socrates, via Plutarch
I have friends who are well-content with being miserable at work in order to afford the toys, gadgets, vacations, company, etc. that they believe makes them happy. I'm not sure their intentions are bad, but their approaches are inherently flawed - even if they don't acknowledge or believe it. The disease still exists, even while the symptoms of it are temporarily alleviated. The addiction is necessitated by the misery and fueled by the brief abscences of misery brought about by the fulfillment of the addiction.
Why not skip the misery and the addiction? What drives us to this obnoxious behavior?
I'll concede that to a certain point, money represents happiness. It can buy us freedom, and choice and voices of our own. To a certain point.
Fortunately, I exist at a point where money - although a particular amount is required for the upkeep of my lifestyle - is not quite so necessary for my happiness. I am well-educated and eminently employable in a broad range of fields. No matter what things I do or don't possess, I've got that. I now exist at a point where I don't seriously check the bank accounts, and I buy mostly what I want - not because I have tons of money, but because my wants are usually not flagrantly expensive. Being frugal is not a chore - it just happens without thought or sacrifice.
Is lacking flagrantly expensive desires complacency?
Now that I have what I want and am generally happy with my possessions... I need - NEED - experiences. I am NOT content to suffer day by day to afford STUFF or ADDITIONAL TIME NOT SUFFERING. I want to always be joyful and fulfilled, always be seeking change, steering away from misery - even if that means steering away from lucrative opportunities. I refuse to work hard for the sake of working hard. Yes! I refuse to work hard for the sake of money, because I don't really require any more money. More might be nice, but not at the expense of my joy.
2 comments:
I suffer with the same problem constantly. After three years, I found a job that I enjoy more than my previous one, but it's still not what I dream of doing. It's hard when your dreams have almost zero chance of creating a livelihood.
You're a step ahead of me - you know what you dream of doing. I have no earthly idea.
I suspect it's not that concrete and has more to do with how much freedom I'm afforded, the personalities and motivations of the people I work around, and the amount of discretion... And probably the physical environment.
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