So I’m not a particularly smart person just want to say that upfront, cuz I know I spell things wrong and I am aware of the fact that I lack the textbook knowledge of philosophy, psychology, and biology. But I have been trying to “find myself” for lack of a better term and I feel like I’m going in a big circle.
Seems to me like individuals struggle between two things; The right now and The tomorrow. The feel-good hippies Vs. Uptight white collar worker.
I feel like a ping pong ball lately. One day I want to enjoy every second of my life and forget those man-made ambitions, I want to feel good and enjoy what life has to offer. I don’t want to get up, go to work, earn money to buy stuff, buy stuff, be tied down, and become stale, for lack of a better word. I’ve met plenty of those people, who pretend life is so great with their iPods, fancy cars, and fancy vacations, but every once in a while you see, you see all that stress of finical burden, the stress of the race, the lack of individuality and you wonder what they are doing.
The next day I want to be remembered for my contribution to society, I don’t want to be a bum. I have those friends to and although the care free life style is tempting, it seems to lack belief in anything other than one self. Aside from that shouldn’t I contribute to the society I live in? Is the rat race and hard work really worth it in the end? I want to make something that future generations will appreciate, particularly my son. I want him to be proud of me. However despite being raised with the delusions of “You can be whatever you want to be” generation, I know that I have limitations and that I may never achieve that goal so this is my question;
Do I waste the here and now for the pursuit of something bigger or do I enjoy the here and now and abandon a dream of greatness? Are there books discussing this that might be useful to me? I know there is no right answer but I just wonder what the opinions are. I realize, also this is essentially a meaning of life question,but I am curious about the biological influence on the subject as well. Pack mentality for example. Just looking to expand my philosophical search and get a new view. Thx.-Shorty
The job that makes me happy will never leave an impact on anyone. Nor does it set a particularly high bar for my son to look up too. I’m just wondering if having an impact, making a difference is worth sacrifice? Plus our society cares about our career paths and imagines and that affects what people think of us, and that affects if people want to be our friends or not which affects how social a person can be. You can’t be be social without conforming to your society, and I need people. I have been riding down the middle path my entire life and that is what is making me change. I’m so tired of being an opinion-less blah. I want to be here or there. But I always make the most of my leisure time.
I thought the fact the humans need each other to exist made us a sort of pack animals? But in any case I was referring to group mentality or herd mentality, or I guess majority rules mentality. As I said, I’m not very familiar with the terms.
I think your job [in most cases] is just the grunt work you need to do to survive etc, you could use it to work towards getting yourself into a position where you can do what you want, or do what you think will make an impact in your spare time.
Jesus was a bum and so was the Buddha, so it depends on what you want to contribute? Wealth is one thing, but ancient societies that were millions of times poorer than us managed to support those who make spiritual pursuits.
What would society be if we were all in the rat race?
Don’t sell yourself short. (Sorry about that!) You seem to be smart–A non-smart person wouldn’t ask your question.
How do you know you haven’t had an effect on people. You may not know how often or in what way, you’ve affected them, but I’m sure you have and probably many times.
If you need to show your son anything, show him that you’ve always chosen to do what you believe is moral and ethical. Teach him to do the same. The thing is, really, none of us will be able to do a world-changing ‘thing’–that we know of. But what about the things we can do that may change another person’s life in ways we can’t anticipate? How do you know, for example, if by smiling and saying hello to a stranger, it hasn’t been just what s/he needed to keep him/her from jumping off an overpass on the way home? How do you know telling a colleague the blouse or shirt s/he is wearing made your day because of the color, style, or material, doesn’t change the way they feel for the day?
How do you know whether or not your son is the one to make the ‘big’ changes? Your survey only allows one answer, but can’t a person live a day in anticipation of a tomorrow?
What do we want to do with our life? Think about all the things you would like to do, and if you would pay someone to let you do THAT, then there is your answer. If you look forward to getting up in the morning, if you can’t wait to get started, if what you are doing is just playful fun that others call work, then you have the best of what life has to offer. There is no need to attempt to leave a mark on the world or to impress friends and family. That will happen anyway if you are happy and contented with yourself.
You live for the work you do today, and the product of your work will be there tomorrow, not to be enjoyed as an end in itself, but as a symbol of your achievement and possibly as a steppingstone of a progression of achievements.
In this case, do you really have to choose? Life is not just an experience to be soaked up.
