This morning, I had an interesting debate with a good friend of mine. To cut a long story short, this guy recently lost almost 15 BTC in what can only be described as a "horrific" ordeal and which is as-of-yet to be resolved. Anyways, we were on the phone having our usual natter about about life and stuff. And how people find various levels of “contentment” in their own personal life. Now, he works at a local superstore and happens to be good friends with the mild-mannered security guard there too. They themselves their own separate conversation too last night about pretty much the same subject matter. Now, this security guard lives in a double room house share. I believe it’s with six other people. He gets his weekly pay check, which provides him with the bare essentials to get by but leaving not much room for savings. He holds no other worldly possessions apart from what is contained in his room. And then he declared to my friend that he’s done. He intends to live out the rest of his days in that same constant. Not striving for anything higher. Just encased in the bubble life has given him.
However, the difference is, he’s really happy! I mean, he feels he doesn’t need anything else. The future is an open book and he actually prefers to exist within this minimalist plain and not worry about what lies ahead. This is as good as it gets for him. Now, I also discovered that he "has" the option of climbing the hierarchical ladder of his chosen career path, which in turn would lead to more work, more responsibility and ultimately, more money. Again, in turn, leading to more options to better improve his life. However, he voluntarily dismisses these opportunities in favour of how he lives, and will continue to live, for now. And what I found a little strange was how much respect my friend gave him for thinking this way. Almost like, he had transcended materialism to uncover the secret of a truly blissful lifestyle.
I must admit, I showed my hand rather quickly. I could not find it within myself to share that same level of enthusiasm my friend did. Reason being, I see our life as one incredible and miraculous opportunity. A minuscule speck of time we all have to make the most out of. Consciousness and life is a precious gift bestowed upon us. It’s like, look around you! The body you have, the ground you walk upon, the air you breath. These things we now take for granted, are in fact straight-up miracles you experience every single day. You even existing here on this planet, being the ultimate one. See where I’m coming from? So, bearing that in mind, shouldn’t you consistently reach for higher levels of comfort, enjoyment and freedom within this microscopic time-frame? Simply finding a “convenient” corner in the system and dwelling there until the “grim reaper comes-a-calling”, seems to me like such a wasted chance. But my friend couldn’t disagree more.
He believes that life should be about achieving mental contentment. Uncluttered your brain of gratuitous desires, created by the greedy minds of the powers that be, i.e. the government, nationwide advertising campaigns or even your own natural impulse of “jealousy”. Bin all that extraneous baggage and what you’re left with is pure clarity and singularity. The realisation that you’ve just bought yourself a ticket out of the rat-race and now understand that your average human only requires the bare essentials to feel happy and free. The future, in the context of the UK where I live, will be taken care of. Through governmental care schemes to help the needy thus providing a benchmark level of comfort for everybody, young and old.
But relying on the government to fund your retirement needs? What about building a better future with the tools afforded to us in the here and now? I dunno. This subject can get long and convoluted if explored deep enough. However, since my friend and I had such a in-depth discussion about it earlier, I thought it’d make a post about it here. To see what you guys think?
Is it better to constantly keep pushing yourself towards a better and more secure life for the future or adopt a minimalist lifestyle, free from the trappings of the dreaded rat-race and materialistic possession?
