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SBOTD: Lost in Stagnation

Started by AFK, January 03, 2007, 02:20:30 PM

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AFK

,Äú,Ķand behind the disguise, of a Man With a Cause, there,Äôs a child screaming with nothing left to say,Äù ,Äì Jim Matheos

It,Äôs 5:30 A.M.  The alarm goes off.  You rub the sleep from your eyes.  You take in a breath, you exhale, and so it continues,Ķ.

Do you remember when it was that you got stuck here?  Yeah, stuck.  Oh sure, you,Äôre pulling in 50k a year.  Your 401k is pretty healthy.  You finally got that nice corner cubicle with the window overlooking your concrete jungle.  Oh, and your company just recently rewarded you for your 15 years of service with a nice Swiss Army pocket knife.  They really do care about you.

But, my friend, when was it that you stopped caring about yourself?  Can you remember how you were in grade school?  Do you remember when you played with absolute, unbridled, unrestricted glee and joy?  Do you remember when you imagined yourself blasting off on a rocket ship heading for Mars?  Do you remember pretending to be Ian Paice as you kept the beat on your Mom,Äôs pots and pans?  Do you remember your dreams? 

Now, here is the next question.  When you did that one assignment in grade school, you know the one where you write about what you want to be when you grow up.  Tell me, did you write about working in Accounts Receivable?

Now, I know what you are thinking.  ,ÄúNot everyone can be an astronaut!  Someone has got to do this job.,Äù  That, my friend, is not the point.  The point is, nay, the question is, why did you exchange your soul for this job?  Why did you check your imagination and child-like desire for wonderment at the door?  When did you lose your desire to, well, desire.  The desire to seek new knowledge, adventure, new experiences.  When did you put your life on automatic pilot and cruise control?

I know, I know, you don,Äôt want to make any waves.  You need to be ,Äúupright,Äù and ,Äúnormal,Äù and ,Äúgrown up.,Äù  You need to keep at it so you can retire with that healthy nest egg so you can sit on the stoop, in your rocking chair, and comfortably reflect.

But, that,Äôs just it.  When you retire, and you look back on it all, will you be satisfied?  Will you be content?  Will you see time well spent?  Or, will you start to wonder, when did I lose it?  When did I let my spirit wither and die?  And is it worth this, this crushing ennui and apathy?

The good news, is you are still alive.  You are reading this and you still have a chance.  The fact that you are even thinking about what is being said here suggests there is something still inside.  Your inner child is still there, waiting for you to take it out of ,Äútime-out.,Äù  Here is your chance to reacquaint yourself with your imagination.  Here is your chance to step outside of the boundaries you,Äôve set-up for how you live your life.  Allow yourself to do those things that might make people look.  Allow yourself to express those things that might make people wonder about you.  Allow yourself to be uninhibited by the pressure to ,Äúbe proper.,Äù

This world is dull enough with all of the plastic pap that the people around you produce.  Don,Äôt be one of them.   ,ÄúStick apart,Äù from the pack.  Allow yourself to walk the paths others say are dangerous and unpredictable.  Most importantly, allow yourself to be yourself. 

Because, if you can get to the end of all this, look back, and see that you were true to you, then you will truly have a remarkable and commendable accomplishment
Cynicism is a blank check for failure.

Jenne

Very very well put, Rev...this is something people wake up 30 or so years into their adult lives and realize and then go apeshit over.  Either that or drown themselves so they don't have to deal with it.

LMNO

Or, they balance it out by forming Punk bands and hanging out on the internet with freakazoids.


LMNO
-knows from experience.

AFK

Right, because people can have an office job, retail job, whatever, and not be a walking void in a suit. 
Just because you have a boring job doesn't mean you have to have a boring life. 
And I think a lot of people probably want to break out of the mold but are too afraid of doing it.
I think that's why a show like The Office is so popular because it's escapist and living vicariously through characters people wish they could be. 
Cynicism is a blank check for failure.

LMNO

It took me a while to accept that Job =/= Life.

That is, I couldn't hold down a stable job, because I was trying to find something to support me that I loved to do.

Problem was, the crap I had to do to make rent was taking all the time I was supposed to be finding the "perfect" job.

Now, I use the company's internet, photocopier, and benefits, while producing music, playing in punk bands, and paying for my mortgage, food, and booze at the same time.

Sure, it's not ideal, but it could be much worse.

AFK

Yes, as a former participant in the Retail Hell industry I can assure you it could be much, much worse.  But, what is the "ideal" or "perfect" job anyway?  And why do so many people look for that to complete them?  Why can't the pursuit of "completion" be in activities and endeavours outside of work?  It's an interesting thing to think about.  I know I am as guilty as anyone of it and I wonder why do I fret about it so much?
Cynicism is a blank check for failure.

tyrannosaurus vex

because:

- in order to survive (in our culture, 'survival' adds up to a lot more than eating and sleeping), you have to make money.  to make money, you have to have a job.

- the job is the central aspect of life.  it is the single most time-consuming activity (for most people).  the fact that you spend so much time doing it necessitates that you adjust to the belief that it actually IS important.

- reconciling the "pursuit of happiness" with the "security of survival" has always been a big factor in human life.  what one wants as opposed to what one needs and what one is expected to contribute to society, is a central theme in almost every genre of every form of expression we have.

but i really like your writing. i need to make one... but i can't seem to get it flowing :/
Evil and Unfeeling Arse-Flenser From The City of the Damned.

LMNO

Because:

-I would much rather spend every hour of my life every day doing something that brought me joy, rather than sacrificing 40 hours a week to do work that means very little to me personally.

tyrannosaurus vex

Quote from: LMNO on January 03, 2007, 03:37:52 PM
Because:

-I would much rather spend every hour of my life every day doing something that brought me joy, rather than sacrificing 40 hours a week to do work that means very little to me personally.

That's 40 hours a week if you're lucky.  Most people put in hours and hours of "overtime" just to keep food on the table.  Just so they can put enough gas in their truck to go back and do it again tomorrow.

Personally, I like my job most of the time.  I get to define my own schedule, and I'm doing things that I like to do.  But still, there's that "well, that's what THIS me likes to do, but my actual self... couldn't really care less."

But really, I think one thing that's severely lacking in Western society is some relative of 'empty nest syndrome.'  There's this (ridiculous) sense that everything is fine in this part of the world, and there really is no more history left to be made.  It's a lie, of course, but it plays well into the complacency we're supposed to have.

Evil and Unfeeling Arse-Flenser From The City of the Damned.

LMNO

I'll work overtime, but I force myself not to fall into the "loyalty to company" trap.

If they hire me for 40/week, i'll work 40/week, and that's it.  I'll also use all my vacation time, and make sure i'm "sick" a few days a year.  It's not a benefit if you don't use it.

Jenne

Quote from: Rev. What's-His-Name? on January 03, 2007, 02:37:47 PM
Right, because people can have an office job, retail job, whatever, and not be a walking void in a suit.
Just because you have a boring job doesn't mean you have to have a boring life.
And I think a lot of people probably want to break out of the mold but are too afraid of doing it.
I think that's why a show like The Office is so popular because it's escapist and living vicariously through characters people wish they could be.

That's sort of what I meant...that the "voids" somehow become aware, at one of these flashes of self-awareness or whateverthefuck it is, and realize they "sold out to The Man(tm)."

Then they just end up shrugging and going on, freaking out and fucking up shit that they really whish they hadn't later on, or they change direction completely and start REALLY living their OWN lives.  This third option is rare.

LHX

neat hell