Is anyone capable of loving his job?

[Along_The_Way]

I won’t speak for other people, but I recall a few days before I was headed off to kindergarten, my great aunt asked me “are you excited” for which I responded honestly, swiftly, and plainly with “no”.

26 or so years later and I have never wavered from that sort of feeling, outside of growing an even deeper disdain for school/work and despair at the thought of going to school/work, and so I have avoided doing so at just about all costs. For me, no, no, no I do not like (disdain, utterly despise, have contempt for, etc) being a slave, and will not put up with it.

My work is my life and my life is my work. MY work, MY life, in which activities like reducing suffering, adventuring into the unknown, asking questions, and walking the path is more than enough, almost too much to handle at times, to be honest. That which calls me calls, and that which doesn’t doesn’t. I cannot do what I am not called to do, would truly rather die, then be forced into slavery, which to me school/work most certainly is.

But again, I can only speak for myself. I am well aware that a vast amount of people go to work, and at least endure it. I have never been able to endure it for long. By the time I was a freshman in high school I refused to go to school anymore, or rather, my nervous system refused it. I wouldn’t budge, was absolutely frozen, paralyzed, shell shocked. Could utterly not do it anymore. I vowed that if I ever had to work I’d simply kill myself. Nothing has changed since then.

[Arminius]

@Along The Way

I won’t speak for other people, but I recall a few days before I was headed off to kindergarten, my great aunt asked me “are you excited” for which I responded honestly, swiftly, and plainly with “no”.

26 or so years later and I have never wavered from that sort of feeling, outside of growing an even deeper disdain for school/work and despair at the thought of going to school/work, and so I have avoided doing so at just about all costs. For me, no, no, no I do not like (disdain, utterly despise, have contempt for, etc) being a slave, and will not put up with it.

My work is my life and my life is my work. MY work, MY life, in which activities like reducing suffering, adventuring into the unknown, asking questions, and walking the path is more than enough, almost too much to handle at times, to be honest. That which calls me calls, and that which doesn’t doesn’t. I cannot do what I am not called to do, would truly rather die, then be forced into slavery, which to me school/work most certainly is.

But again, I can only speak for myself. I am well aware that a vast amount of people go to work, and at least endure it. I have never been able to endure it for long. By the time I was a freshman in high school I refused to go to school anymore, or rather, my nervous system refused it. I wouldn’t budge, was absolutely frozen, paralyzed, shell shocked. Could utterly not do it anymore. I vowed that if I ever had to work I’d simply kill myself. Nothing has changed since then.

But isn’t killing yourself too much work for you?

[Arcturus_Descending]

surreptitious57

If something unforeseen happened to me then I would have to accept it and cope as best as I could

Can we always know for certain what our behavior would be in the future?
Are we so passive that we would automatically “accept” anything and everything which comes to us? There would be no fight or struggle to change something? Does “coping” include allowing everything?

It is not something exclusive to me for it is a universal human response to any manner of situations

No, I wouldn’t say that it is exclusive to you but I also wouldn’t say that it is an UNIVERSAL human response. Most people are not generally passive about things which occur in their life, at least not things which make a great difference to them. Believe it or not, I find that struggle is important for survival, for physically, mentally and emotional. But in balance of course but meaning does need to be whittled down to what’s really important and what can be thrown away.

I am not Buddhist though I think being naturally passive is the default position for me from now on

A “buddhist” may not have been even reasonable there. I don’t think that buddhists are necessarily that passive. They are pro-active when they feel it calls for them to be. I wouldn’t exactly call a buddhist who sets himself on fire and just sits there in the street waiting to burn up - for a cause which he sees as important - as being passive though that would depend on someone’s interpretation of passive.

You want to believe that that is your default position from now and I hope it works for you but in reality you can’t really know how you will react to certain stimuli/circumstances, et cetera - and a butterfly at some point has to emerge from his coccoon. You seem to have made a coccoon of your life. But that’s your decision.

If I saw a child being harmed I would probably tell the police but would not get involved otherwise

How long do you think it would take for the police to show up if a child is being beaten by his father? This is the thing about default positions - you can’t know in advance if they will work or not. “One size does not fit all.” We can’t always keep the letter of the law but hopefully we will keep the spirit of the law. Depending on where you live, there is a Good Samaritan Law. If it is found out that you just stood by while a child was being beaten, and did nothing, you could find yourself in a lot of trouble.
But maybe if you actually SAW it happening, you would respond. Would you?

I avoid human beings much as possible and I fully plan on remaining a recluse up until the day I die

Well, there are times when I would like to do the same thing. There are times when I am so down on humanity but then I gradually let it go. I love my aloneness, my solitude - we all definitely need that - but my natural mood and attitude is that I basically like and enjoy human beings…most of them anyway - except for those I don’t. I couldn’t be a recluse.

Anyway, you’re not 100 a recluse or reclusive. If you were, you wouldn’t be in here posting and interacting with people.

About what you said above - “you don’t love anyway and no one loves you”. I don’t necessarily find anything wrong with that. That’s your choice if one can say that it is actually a choice. That would depend on things within you which you may not be aware of. There are causes for things but still the decision is ours to make. There have been a few times in my life when I felt that would be a great way to live (some losses are more unendurable than others) but I got over that way of thinking. Not the losses but the effect of them. Time does in part heal. The rest is up to us.
But as long as there are still THINGS which you can love, have an interest in and a passion for, you can still live a satisfying life, one that you may feel is optimal. If you don’t have that, well then - I don’t know.
But again, you are here in ILP. How can that in itself not be satisfying? lol

[surreptitious57]

I am all alone but I use it to my advantage and do not see it as a negative but a positive. I am as accepting
of life as I can be and quite philosophical about it which makes me as free as possible all things considered
And I am not interacting with any one here but rather with their words which are not really the same thing
I do not like talking if I can avoid it so if this was philosophy in the pub instead you would not be seeing me

[Artimas]

@Ultimate Philosophy 1001

@surreptitious57

I like Trixie for her mind not her body even though she does talk a lot of nonsense most of the time
I have a soft spot for her for reasons I do not fully understand so am not bothered by what she says

But you don’t even know my body. I am the only personal not egotistical enough to show myself to the world. i am the great and humble trixie.

Kelly Jones is wrong, showing her full name and body is ego building, not ego reducing.

Humble. That’s funny.

[Ultimate_Philosophy (Ultimate Philosophy 1001)]

@Along The Way

I won’t speak for other people, but I recall a few days before I was headed off to kindergarten, my great aunt asked me “are you excited” for which I responded honestly, swiftly, and plainly with “no”.

26 or so years later and I have never wavered from that sort of feeling, outside of growing an even deeper disdain for school/work and despair at the thought of going to school/work, and so I have avoided doing so at just about all costs. For me, no, no, no I do not like (disdain, utterly despise, have contempt for, etc) being a slave, and will not put up with it.

My work is my life and my life is my work. MY work, MY life, in which activities like reducing suffering, adventuring into the unknown, asking questions, and walking the path is more than enough, almost too much to handle at times, to be honest. That which calls me calls, and that which doesn’t doesn’t. I cannot do what I am not called to do, would truly rather die, then be forced into slavery, which to me school/work most certainly is.

But again, I can only speak for myself. I am well aware that a vast amount of people go to work, and at least endure it. I have never been able to endure it for long. By the time I was a freshman in high school I refused to go to school anymore, or rather, my nervous system refused it. I wouldn’t budge, was absolutely frozen, paralyzed, shell shocked. Could utterly not do it anymore. I vowed that if I ever had to work I’d simply kill myself. Nothing has changed since then.

What do you hate most about it? I hated most about school was the having to sit for hours, and the bullying.
And here I am, on ILP, sitting for hours and getting bullied.

The kind of work I do, programming, gives me a flow. Probably the reason you hate your job is you have a job that doesn’t give you a flow. Cuz actually, without flow, some people would be bored out of their minds. Maybe you should try an outdoors job that has more excersize involved. Or a job where you don’t go to it in the morning, because of morning grog making you suicidal.

[ended6]

@Ultimate Philosophy 1001

What do you hate most about it? I hated most about school was the having to sit for hours, and the bullying.
And here I am, on ILP, sitting for hours and getting bullied…

hugs

[Arcturus_Descending]

surreptitious57

I am all alone but I use it to my advantage and do not see it as a negative but a positive.

Aloneness and solitude can be a great positive. Obviously, you are quite comfortable with your own presence which is a sign of maturity unless it is for negative reasons and deprives you of evolving. But we all make the choice to consciously evolve or not. Perhaps you are simply where you need to be - at least for the moment.

I am as accepting of life as I can be and quite philosophical about it which makes me as free as possible all things considered

So, you might call yourself a stoic? Do you flow through amor fati? lol Can’t think of another word to describe what I’m saying but “flow”.
What do you mean by free? All things right with your world - more or less?
No attachments? Is it like that song…“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose?”

And I am not interacting with any one here but rather with their words which are not really the same thing

You may not be involving yourself emotionally - that comes through - but you are definitely interacting with people here. I recall a post you made to Trixie. Can’t recall where it was and I was rather surprised by its content or the flavor of it anyway. But of course, one post means nothing. I just happened to notice it.
Interacting doesn’t have to be emotional. It’s still a human intellectual interacting.
I see nothing at all wrong with not wanting any emotional involvement. To each his own. Have you ever taken the time though to reflect on how you got to this point? I’m just asking.

I do not like talking if I can avoid it so if this was philosophy in the pub instead you would not be seeing me

You wouldn’t be seeing me there either. lol Pub?
So, I gather that you do not go to places where there are people, unless it’s necessary?

[Arcturus_Descending]

This is what Along the Way said…

My work is my life and my life is my work. MY work, MY life, in which activities like reducing suffering, adventuring into the unknown, asking questions, and walking the path is more than enough, almost too much to handle at times, to be honest. That which calls me calls, and that which doesn’t doesn’t. I cannot do what I am not called to do, would truly rather die, then be forced into slavery, which to me school/work most certainly is.

It doesn’t seem to me that he hates his life work or he might find something else to do. It also seems to be more of a vocation in a way than a career though I suppose it is also that. People can love their work, or at least feel some degree- it fluctuates - if not great satisfaction as a result of what they’re doing. It doesn’t mean that they are always going to feel that way. People get tired, feel a bit burned out.

He may not be going to an office, he may not be a computer programmer, et cetera, but what he is doing is STILL working.

Anyone in whatever job or whatever is being done, for the most part can experience flow. It’s just a question of focusing and being MINDFUL so much that one becomes oblivious to anything else around them but what they are doing and they are happily so. It’s also like perfect being or "being in the pocket’ so to speak.

[WW_III_ANGRY]

@above us only sky

Karl Marx said we the employees are alienated or cut off from 1. the products we produce. 2. the work activities 3. ourselves 4. each other, Is he right?
Is anyone capable of loving his job? In your opinion, is it better to be a boss or an employee? Should the employees be given more protection under the law?

Wrong on all accounts.

Yes, people love their job, I love my job. I would cry out of heartbreak if I lost my job. It is better to be a boss for me. I can’t speak for everyone else. I am not sure about the employees given more protection under the law, it seems they have plenty of protection.

[Along_The_Way]

@Arminius

@Along The Way

I won’t speak for other people, but I recall a few days before I was headed off to kindergarten, my great aunt asked me “are you excited” for which I responded honestly, swiftly, and plainly with “no”.

26 or so years later and I have never wavered from that sort of feeling, outside of growing an even deeper disdain for school/work and despair at the thought of going to school/work, and so I have avoided doing so at just about all costs. For me, no, no, no I do not like (disdain, utterly despise, have contempt for, etc) being a slave, and will not put up with it.

My work is my life and my life is my work. MY work, MY life, in which activities like reducing suffering, adventuring into the unknown, asking questions, and walking the path is more than enough, almost too much to handle at times, to be honest. That which calls me calls, and that which doesn’t doesn’t. I cannot do what I am not called to do, would truly rather die, then be forced into slavery, which to me school/work most certainly is.

But again, I can only speak for myself. I am well aware that a vast amount of people go to work, and at least endure it. I have never been able to endure it for long. By the time I was a freshman in high school I refused to go to school anymore, or rather, my nervous system refused it. I wouldn’t budge, was absolutely frozen, paralyzed, shell shocked. Could utterly not do it anymore. I vowed that if I ever had to work I’d simply kill myself. Nothing has changed since then.

But isn’t killing yourself too much work for you?

No. It’s only too much work in the very liberal sense of, the psychological/emotional work involved to face the fear of death and end ones life, and leaved loved ones behind in great mourning. So in that sense, yes, and those are very important reasons as to why I am still alive.

I get the feeling you were just trying to take a shot at me, but I answered your question honestly in the case that you weren’t just being an ass.

[Arcturus_Descending]

It’s called sarcasm. Trust your instinct.

[WW_III_ANGRY]

@Arcturus Descending

It’s called sarcasm. Trust your instinct.

Hey I have a challenge for you, When are you going to put your mind out on the line?

[Arcturus_Descending]

@WW_III_ANGRY

@Arcturus Descending

It’s called sarcasm. Trust your instinct.

Hey I have a challenge for you, When are you going to put your mind out on the line?

That’s an interesting question. Can you please elaborate a bit before i answer.

[WW_III_ANGRY]

@Arcturus Descending

@WW_III_ANGRY

@Arcturus Descending

It’s called sarcasm. Trust your instinct.

Hey I have a challenge for you, When are you going to put your mind out on the line?

That’s an interesting question. Can you please elaborate a bit before i answer.

I just think you might hold back a bit, play it safe. You’re very conservative in your portraying your thoughts, I could be wrong.

[Arcturus_Descending]

WW_III_ANGRY

Hey I have a challenge for you, When are you going to put your mind out on the line?

That’s an interesting question. Can you please elaborate a bit before i answer.

I just think you might hold back a bit, play it safe. You’re very conservative in your portraying your thoughts, I could be wrong.

Well, I do not mean this in any derogatory sense toward myself as I know my limitations but what you may be seeing here is simply my lack of great intelligence and knowledge when compared to others in this forum. There are many pages within my mind that have not as yet been written on. You do know that you can’t get blood out of stone, right? But I will reflect on your words. Maybe you can give me a prime example.

Now, if you’re speaking in other terms, what do you mean by [playing it safe], if you personally feel that I would not HAVE to have that kind of knowledge? if that made sense.
Just for the record, there are times when I am not SO conservative in portraying my thoughts. It just depends on what I see written and what I see as necessary to respond to. But I figure you’re not speaking about that.

[WW_III_ANGRY]

@Arcturus Descending

WW_III_ANGRY

Hey I have a challenge for you, When are you going to put your mind out on the line?

That’s an interesting question. Can you please elaborate a bit before i answer.

I just think you might hold back a bit, play it safe. You’re very conservative in your portraying your thoughts, I could be wrong.

Well, I do not mean this in any derogatory sense toward myself as I know my limitations but what you may be seeing here is simply my lack of great intelligence and knowledge when compared to others in this forum. There are many pages within my mind that have not as yet been written on. You do know that you can’t get blood out of stone, right? But I will reflect on your words. Maybe you can give me a prime example.

Now, if you’re speaking in other terms, what do you mean by [playing it safe], if you personally feel that I would not HAVE to have that kind of knowledge? if that made sense.
Just for the record, there are times when I am not SO conservative in portraying my thoughts. It just depends on what I see written and what I see as necessary to respond to. But I figure you’re not speaking about that.

I think you know more maybe. Maybe you know more than you give credit to? Maybe you do know more and hold back intentionally. I could be wrong. Just a suspicion

[Arcturus_Descending]

WW_III_ANGRY

I think you know more maybe. Maybe you know more than you give credit to? Maybe you do know more and hold back intentionally. I could be wrong. Just a suspicion

That’s plausible. Perhaps we all know more than we give credit to. We definitely give credit to knowing much more than we actually do.
I’m pretty sure though that I do not hold back intentionally…at least not consciously.

What is possible is that I could probably not respond to a post [right away]. There is this time element for me. I only have so much time in the mornings. I could probably postpone posting, try to be more thorough, see what more i can squeeze into a post, and then post when I think I’ve more or less exhausted all there is to it. That doesn’t necessarily mean that there probably would be more of a difference but possibly could be.

Possibly, it might also border more on lazy thinking then being conservative. My job is not so automatic. It requires much more than a modicum of thinking.