Pondering this subject, it could mean so many different things … but it has become a frustratingly personal issue, and it all boils down to life choices. At the age of 60 I have to do three different jobs just to make ends meet. I have virtually no time for anything else.
I've just been to a Mothers' Day lunch with my son. Spending time with him for the first time in months made me realise how unfair the whole system is. He is 26, he has a beautiful 1 year old baby girl, but his life has become a soul destroying quest for survival. He is a professional diver, which is a high risk profession and it takes him away for long periods, so instead he works for a local builders' supply store to be close to his new family.
We live in a magnificent part of the world, the Indian Ocean our daily soul food as we drive to work. BUT, in order to survive in this beautiful environment, have a roof over our heads and food on our table, petrol in our tanks (public transport virtually non-existent here), we have to work for the lowest legal wage, in pointless jobs that only serve to advance the owner. I know this is not a unique situation globally, and that is what really frustrates me the most. What the hell is going on? We are slaves to the machine, willing slaves to this materialistic, capitalistic order.
There is an option …. live off the grid …. in South Africa you can't just find a remote space to go set up home, you need to purchase land, pay land tax, and have some liquidity to educate your child (or face prosecution), and for transport, emergencies. This is where the frustration sets in …. despite all the years of hard work, we are still unable to set ourselves free! Boggles the brain!
Graphics courtesy of Pixabay