Moderator removed post
View all comments
I've (un)fortunately been living like this for a few months now. No responsibilities, no job. Getting free money so I've been living carefree for a lil while and honestly it's not as good as you think it is.
The first few weeks is amazing with recovery. Then I started pursing my interests. And then I burned myself out of everything I used to enjoy and now im doom scrolling reddit and Netflix. I lost purpose for a few months
Currently recovering by setting up camping trips and a few vacations and scheduling myself and starting up school even though I really don't need to work or get another degree for pretty much the rest of my life. Having purpose is important in trying to keep yourself balanced.
Edit: some people are curious, so it was military benefits for some parts of my body and PTSD. I essentially have free college for 4 years, plus a stipend if I go to school that's rated for the cost of living in the area, and I get enough money to live comfortably every month. Non taxable.
Yeah, my wife currently is a stay at home wife while we're expecting our first born. Every day she wakes up when she wants, has the freedom to pursue what she wants (within reason of course..we're not rich).
Here's the thing, she is bored most days. She tells me she doesn't know what to do and is constantly searching for a hobby to partake in, which I try to happily support be it painting, clay sculpting, etc.
She tells me that she could just go to work in a part time job while she still active and has mobility. I tell her it's not worth the extra couple hundred dollars we'd get and it would just put more stress on her and the baby.
Pretty much without some sort of real obligation, she doesn't know what to do.
Humans are weird like that. I don't think we were ever meant to sit around and do nothing. That's why watching Netflix for 8 hours feels gross, especially if you do it multiple days a week. We were always meant to pursue something.
I don't think the majority of people's hobbies alone could fulfill that purpose unless they were getting compensated for it. But then that just becomes a job, maybe a more fulfilling job, but it often leads to a situation where you're no longer passionate about the craft and more about the money. See YouTubers today with their scams, click bait, and questionable sponsors. They become sellouts and lose integrity for that next paycheck.
Basically, humans need purpose, and this fantasy of waking up with no agenda is not actually a purpose for almost everyone and will only lead to a lack of meaning in ones life more often than not
And an employer is the only way to find that purpose? Embarrassing.
A world were most people work for someone else absolutely is not the default like some are implying. It's a new concept. Pre industrial revolution most people worked for themselves/family business.
No, an employer is not the only way to find a purpose. But at the moment, with the current situation we live in, it's the only way for the majority of people to find some resemblance of purpose.
If many of us were willing to forego some of the luxury items we have today, we could return to a pre industrial way of living. The reality is, most of us don't want that. We want the comforts of industrial. We like to go to the grocery store and buy all of our food in one trip.
We like to turn the water handle and have clean drinking water (debatable) come out.
We like to be able to entertain ourselves by clicking a few buttons and scrolling endlessly.
We like to be to live our lives with our guards down and not have to worry about surviving on a primal level.
Prior to large civilizations, men made sacrifices to feed and protect their families while women made sacrifices to ensure there children were raised properly.
Nowadays men and women don't do the same things as they did 500 years ago, but the thing that remains constant is we're still sacrificing our time and efforts to pursue something.
Unfortunately for many of us those sacrifices are not worth the rewards. I.e. working a min wage job to have a shitty apartment to live in.
Do you think 500 years ago, the man whonhaf 10 children, 8 of which died before the age of 3 really thought, wow, my life is perfect?
Or even 1 years ago, the man who returned from the coal mine who had black lung really thought, wow, at least I can provide for my family?
Yes, employment is not a good solution for us to find meaning.
One thing I do admire about religious communities is the vary strong sense of communal activities. There is a birthday party every other week, a cookout, and a community event
All the same people show up, and if someone needs help they all pitch in.
I wonder if we rebuilt these communities would our lives begin to feel less bleak? Because before I integrated into one of these communities I never talked to any of my neighbors, kept my work friends as work friends.
Just a thought