Do you feel like Having to Work is un-natural?

Originally posted by Extralien

Originally posted by Wildeagle
I will add that my dream would really be to simply live off the land, and be self sufficient in every way. I wish for a world where we can survive on our own without the need for money. I wish there was NO money at all, and we were back in the simple days of trade.

Oddly enough, I am seeing this very thing beginning to happen.. At the moment though it is in its spiritual stage.
When I say spiritual, I am looking at how many people, new to a lot of topics we discuss here, 'wake up'.

Those already in the know have a state of mind ready and prepared for any changes. This surge of mental freedom is lifting our spirits.

The events in Egypt these last 18 days are a prime example of that. Massive amounts of people, thinking the same way, knowing something is not right, standing up and doing something about it.

Many people fear a global meltdown of money, food and fuel.. food and fuel will strangle us because of its cost. It is quite simple for everyone to work together and break the chain of 'money' if it all goes wrong.

You are right on that, I cannot disagree... but in reality many people see their lands being taken by bulldozers and paramilitaries on steroids with machine guns. Spiritual changes are of not much help for these situations.

reply to post by GeminiSky


I don't feel it's unnatural to work at all. However I do feel that it's unnatural to feel abused and pushed around while doing something that you have no pleasure to do at all.

The problem nowadays is that people are too afraid of pursuing their real passions. And most often they don't even have the guts to search for what their real passion is since it involves risks (most often monetary risks). Most people end up wasting their lives doing stuff that they don't want to just so they can buy # they don't need to fit in a system and feel common, acceptable.

If you're not happy, change your life. You (an only you) can do it. You just need the guts to free yourself from the molds of this marketed standard way of life and risk yourself a bit.

It's either that or comply with all the crap you don't like and be happy while not thinking you've just sold your soul to the nothingness while living a life that you're not happy with.

So... find your real passion. Learn to develop it and you will eventually be rewarded in one way or the other.

reply to post by GeminiSky


As hunters and gatherers we only worked approximately 20 hours a week. Here, we work our whole lives with the dream of one day working as few hours as our ancestors worked their whole lives. Civilization has become our self-made gilded cage. Enjoy it.

reply to post by GeminiSky


I know what you mean. I got my first job around october and was being paid well, but I hated going to work and doing the same thing everyday and for # hours. It just wasn't me. I had to quit in December because I had to have back surgery and I love my free time, although I realize I will have to find another job sooner or later, I wish I could find a job I absolutely love and doesn't feel like work.

reply to post by GeminiSky


Its about damn time people started waking up,well almost,the reason you feel that way is because it isnt natural,it is natural however to provide for your family but in this case no,money is no more than an insentive to get you to dedicate your life for a private interest, its modern day slavery and we in the west work way too much, your right,you do not have time for your life, and the pressures of society and from fellow citizens,friends and family to do so is also excruciating. I try to tell people to live their lives how they want to and do what they love doing, but the independant opportunity market has been cornered and blocked off by private interest groups coralling you to do their work while the CEO's and owners of these major corporations kick back doing what you would love to do,and you will notice you wont get any higher than where your at, i have become non materialistic myself and choose to do what i love,which is music,i dont make alot of money at all and have to get help from friends but not without contributing something, i have no desire to accumulate cheap chinese crap because everyone else does,its an annoying fact of american life that in order to be successful you have to aquire what the tv says, and how everyone goes along to follow suit like blind sheep,as if everyones a carbon copy of some special interest group. Its disgusting to say the least, and if you choose not to play their game you are labeled with many condescending terms such as lazy,depressed, unethical or roughly speaking a piece of #. we are all one collective conciousness as a whole but as individuals having a life experience it is a waste of life to squander your time doing something you would rather not be doing for something as meaningless and worthless as paper and numbers on a computer, its a vicious cycle we must all get out of,were only here for a cup of coffee people,lets make the most of it living our own lives doing what we love and not waste it slaving for someone who gets to enjoy every precious moment of theirs

reply to post by GeminiSky


I would have to agree! Something is not right for sure. Sure majority of work places say 8 hour shifts but it takes up more time out of your life to get ready and commute to work! and some times over time happens as well! So minus 9 hours plus 7 hours of sleep that means that we get an average of 16-17hours to work and sleep and leaves us with not even half of the day for our own time!  On top of that there was article on here a while ago that showed how the USA is one of the hardest working country out there! We only have 30 minute - hour lunch breaks and the less holidays and day offs in the world. Other places have siestas and a lot of holidays and time off.  I feel that our internal batteries in our body is being drained on a massive level and is distracting us from the finer things in life and not allowing us to ask questions and answer them.  Some thing is wrong when you spend most of the day locked away from the sun and instead we are constantly subjected to fluorescent lights beating us down with that nasty rf signals.  I hope that the paradigm shift will happen where we won't need money any more and that frees us up from this whole working/money distraction... A quote from a video where this guy said aliens did not understand why majority of the population of earth pay to live...

Originally posted by andrewh7
reply to post by GeminiSky

 

As hunters and gatherers we only worked approximately 20 hours a week. Here, we work our whole lives with the dream of one day working as few hours as our ancestors worked their whole lives. Civilization has become our self-made gilded cage. Enjoy it.

This was my reaction to the thread as well. Prior to trade, people worked to live (so not unnatural). The unnatural part is that it was not constant. People might work very long hours when necessary (e.g. harvest time) but there were slow days which gave more rest than the time we are accustomed to. The average person is working 8 hours a day and then spending 1 or 2 hours in traffic to earn money and then during down-time using up several hours to spend the money to acquire the basics of life. That is the unnatural part. Even in the past if someone worked 8 hours in a day they had the necessities at the end of the day as a result. I think this is why the time crunch exists and what has so many people disillusioned. So to sum up, everyone needs to work, everyone needs days off to recover - but the extra burden (commute and not walking away with the necessities at the end of the work) is the problem.

reply to post by GeminiSky


Yep, thats the way it is. I work for the same reasons we all do. Never the less I can't shake the feeling that I am squandering the gift of life. Surley Im not here just to work? Unfortunatly work is something you can not escape. Im sure that being a hunter gatherer is alot more work and stress in the long run. The factory will still be there after a couple seasons of drought. The patch of strawberrys you and your family has been tending for years may not.
I try to remember that I could have it worse. Im fortunate to be here in America working as a new construction plumber. Not in congo being forced to mine diamonds at gun point, while my wife is gang raped around the corner. I bet that guy would trade places in a instant.
Just think, if people would just treat each other with respect and help one another we could just live in a utopian society.

reply to post by PhantomLimb


This is true because people work and do not have these things. You could work at a minuim wage job 40 hours a week and still not make it.

Originally posted by Gorman91
reply to post by Amaterasu

 

Good grief? It's true. Saying it is not doesn't change that fact. You and I are both killing someone somewhere somehow through our actions.

You say it's true. I say it's not. Now what?

Never said dispense with it. I am for more a lover of logic than emotion and bullcrap human thought. Just telling you the simple fact. God and logic are incompatible.

That's a rather weird idea... If God is everything, God must be logic, as well. And yet...God and logic are incompatible. Or are you suggesting God is some incomprehensible thing outside of everything? Frankly, if God is incompatible with logic, I have little interest in Her/Him/It.

Define failure? There have been 100+ billion people that have lived on this planet. How many were killed by another man, directly or indirectly?

I see. Ok. Some have failed at this life. What would you define "success" as?

Indeed worth is subjective. So let the government say what's worth. if you make the government worth its people and not what it takes from them, they will go with the benefit of the doubt.

You may want to take a look at some of my stuff here on ATS. I think we can easily be self-governed through the Interweb.

reply to post by GeminiSky


Well, I worked in industry for over 20 years. I really got so sick of it that I began to have physical problems. I paid off all my bills and resigned from that job. Since then I have taken a part time job with benefits to provide the small needs everyone has. Ive been growing big gardens, canning food each year. Now I dont have cash to buy new cars, big screen tvs or the latest gadgets, but I have what I need. I have time to play with the kids. We have better food now than we had before because now we have time to grow it/ cook it for ourselves. I cant say if this is for everyone because lots of people I know think Im nuts, but I love it and Im not going back to the monotonous grind I had before. For me, each day truly is a new day. If you can live without the latest shiny red sports car and dont mind driving an old truck, maybe you should consider it. Read about it before you leap. Learn about agriculture and all forms of self sufficiency. I am convinced that I have added years to my life and quality years at that. Whatever 2011-2012 brings to me, I truly have enjoyed the last 4 years and am at peace.

About 30 years ago I tried '___'. While tripping, I thought that the whole system of working for corporations and "doing your time" in a work week kind of like jail time is all wrong. The whole set up seemed wrong, manipulative, incarcerating, and as people say, wage slavery. I've never forgotten that feeling, but since then I've been trapped like a cog in the machinery just like most everyone else.

I agree with those who say figure out what you love to do and do that for a living. However, that is much easier said than done. The cold, hard fact is that the system makes it very difficult to live debt free, to find and get plugged in to a job or company you would love and that would pay well enough to cover your expenses, and so forth. Corporations and the executives in them are flat out greedy and believe me, care nothing about workers they can replace very quickly these days. Corporate hierarchies are rotten when it comes to decency, ethics and true fairness.

You may feel inspired to start your own company, but just know up front that it is going to take a lot of start up cash you're either sitting on right now or have to convince a banker to loan to you. Your business plan will have to be flawless, ultra low risk, and foolproof to get a loan these days, so don't bother to get innovative or creative --- too risky. Start your own business and you had better have plenty of cash flow and stuff to liquidate in order to get all your bills paid while struggling to catch on in the marketplace. It ain't easy.

To top it off, the government makes it hard on entrepreneurs by smothering you with heavy self-employment taxes, which in my opinion should be abolished.

Corporate America wants very badly for the masses to be wage slaves so they can keep their handsome profits accelerating and increasing. It would help a little if they would go to four day work weeks and have other perks that would help employees enjoy their lives more, but no --- too much greed inherent in the system.

My advice? Keep thinking deeply about what kind of work would make you happier and gradually move toward achieving your goal of getting into that line of work. As others have pointed out, it is really important for everyone to be in as little debt as possible or out of debt completely (hard to accomplish and may take a while).

Another thing is looking into the possibility of moving to a different country where the work culture is different. For example, a friend of mine, while in the USA, applied for a job in Saudi Arabia and to his amazement they hired him and flew him over there to work. He said it was shocking to see how different the work culture is over there. They have much more time off than in the USA and jobs pay better there because they are rolling in oil money. Anyway, he loves it and is still over there. He flies into Europe like for several days every other week just for fun.

Well, good luck. I agree with you that the way things are set up in the USA, the daily grind working for an obnoxious corporation is wrong, but they continue to get away with it because they know workers need the $ for rent, food and other necessities. It's unfortunate but very hard to break away from these corporate traps.

Oh and by the way, the biggest corporate trap they have us in is medical insurance.

Good luck to everyone!

I'll admit I haven't read all the replies, but the OP resonates with me so I had to reply....

I started working in a mexican restaurant when I was 14 (34 now) and loved it - I loved the food, cooking, helping out. 3 months later I was ready to retire. I worked mainly in food service/construction after that and KNEW it wasn't right. I have severe back problems from lifting and doing other manual labor that now I can't stand or sit for more than an hour.

When Eve offered Adam the apple and he took it, didn't "god" say something about "by the sweat of your brow you shall eat your food...." - why is god so mean?

www.biblegateway.com...

Originally posted by andrewh7
reply to post by GeminiSky

 

As hunters and gatherers we only worked approximately 20 hours a week. Here, we work our whole lives with the dream of one day working as few hours as our ancestors worked their whole lives. Civilization has become our self-made gilded cage. Enjoy it.

Except your life expectancy was much lower, there wasn't anything to do, and your quality of living was less than stellar. You can certainly go find a cave in some remote country.. make a little garden.. enjoy your new quality of life. Or you can suffer horribly living in a city, where you can have food served to you on clean plates, live much healthier, entertain yourself in a variety of ways, and not have to worry about getting eaten by an angry bear or lion or something.

I imagine as time goes on, we'll find further ways to automate the more mundane tasks, and we can do less and have even more free time. But no.. working is not "unnatural." It's what we do to survive. The key is to do what you enjoy doing. If you don't do that, it's your own fault you are miserable at work.

Originally posted by andrewh7
As hunters and gatherers we only worked approximately 20 hours a week. Here, we work our whole lives with the dream of one day working as few hours as our ancestors worked their whole lives.

If you've ever lived around or with a primitive tribe, I think you will find this isn't true. They will spend a day tracking an animal, making tools to hunt with, finding roots, walking to water, etc, etc. They couldn't accomplish as much because they spend so much time in doing things that we only have to do a few times -- like constantly rebuilding houses or constantly repairing a weapon. You had to work a lot to prepare food for the risky times (drought, winter, etc.)

Children began working early. Women's work was never done and the idea of two days of rest was unheard of. The idea of "frequent parties" was possible because everyone lived within 20 feet of other families.

And the environmental impacts -- ugh.

No, I'll take civilization, thanks!

Most people are so stuck in the grind that they have lost touch with reality - their own lives. People work more because they have more expenses, they want a huge house, they want a nice car, they want TV, toys, etc. I personally don't care much about those things, especially TV i dont even watch it...so that right there cuts of 50 bucks a month plus your big flat screen cost.

Originally posted by Byteman
reply to post by GeminiSky

 

Working is perfectly natural, after all we are hunter/gatherers.

That being said, our pre-agriculture/farming ancestors only had to work about 20 hours a week...IIRC.

I never thought hunters-gatherers were doing wage-slavery for faceless corporations, in order to receive a bank statement that will allow them to buy toxic food produced by other big corporations, among other irrelevant things to comfort them within the frame of a huge, oppressive, and above all unwanted system of Law and Order.

I have to revise my anthropology classes!


Anarchy rules

I worked a part time job at ten dollars an hour, four hours a day, up to twenty hours a week. I bought little, and could still pay rent (living with a roommate). I bought entertainments in bulk, got food from the food bank, purchased in bulk from grocers, and learned how to cook. It is incredibly cheap to survive in a modern society, if you can resist meaningless materialism and meaningless luxuries like television and such.

P.S. I can pay for high speed internet too!

edit: I quit that job because it was a telemarketing sales job and I was so depressed that I almost walked in front of a truck.

Originally posted by I.C. Weiner
I'll admit I haven't read all the replies, but the OP resonates with me so I had to reply....

I started working in a mexican restaurant when I was 14 (34 now) and loved it - I loved the food, cooking, helping out. 3 months later I was ready to retire. I worked mainly in food service/construction after that and KNEW it wasn't right. I have severe back problems from lifting and doing other manual labor that now I can't stand or sit for more than an hour.

When Eve offered Adam the apple and he took it, didn't "god" say something about "by the sweat of your brow you shall eat your food...." - why is god so mean?

www.biblegateway.com...

" But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die." Genesis 3:3

He did tell them not to eat from the tree. God is not mean but God does expect us to do what we are told and will hold us to those commandments much like any good father would do when his children disobey him.

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait...


You guys are getting soooo ahead of yourselves before you claim you wanna run off and live in the forest. You're on a conspiracy site, on the internet, using electricity, tiny silicone chips that were made by million dollar machines, sitting in a faux leather chair using a plastic mouse all resting on your polyester carpet. You probably have a TV going in the background, or are listening to Jimi Hendrix blast away on his electric guitar creating beautiful music, or appreciating the genius of the classical music of the past ages.

Oh the things we NEVER GET TO ENJOY IN LIFE!!! It's tragic, really, that we work to be able to come home to the ability to find out anything you want about the world from one website. That you can on your computer, in one night, visit Hawaii, Jamaica, the top of Mount Everest and order an Italian pizza from the little shop around the corner. That you're slightly cold, so you turn the dial on your thermostat up 1 degree to get to your perfect, cozy spot. You pick up a printed book from your bedside table that also contains the alarm clock keeping you in touch with the world, that also provides calming noises so you can sleep peacefully at night on your clean, machine-washed machine-created bedsheets and flannel blanket.

ENJOY WHAT YOU HAVE NOW. Appreciate the fruits of your labor. You're MISERABLE when you're out of work, miserable while you're working... but hate you're wasting your time? Why weren't you soaking up EVERY #ING MINUTE while you were unemployed? Because you couldn't afford the factory made drywall protecting you from every bad element surrounding you, to power your water heater, afford the $5 bolt that your air conditioner needs to keep working.

You wouldn't have your laptop you're typing away on now without a job. You wouldn't have cars, roads, social gatherings, restaurants, daycare, a gym, the coffee shop, a 7-11, liquor store, Wal-mart, nice parks without other people working and enjoying their lives. Somebody LOVES their job as they climb through man holes, or run through a burning building to save a child, to give a loan to some parents opening a shop for left-handed people. They have purpose, they buy things that make them happy and have CONVENIENCE in life.


That's what you're paying for, if you don't appreciate any of the CONVENIENCE we have nowadays, by all means sell your posessions and go work your '20 hours a week' while growing your own food, building your own shelter, raising your family entirely on your own. Oh, and every night from 5 PM - 11 PM you sit on your front porch... every... night... because you don't have anything better to do. But it's calm, relaxing, and you DON'T HAVE TO go to work!! Wow!!! Now that, makes this entire boring life worthwhile.