Why should you have to lie to take a day off of work?
Have you ever thought about this? Some folks, who are in the great position of having a job they love, who are self-employed, or who have a good relationship with their boss can say:
You know what? Today, I need a mental health day. Today, I need to go down to the riverside, or to the ocean, or to the local café, and JUST SPACE OUT. Just rest. Write. Read. Whatever. I need to recharge and reevaluate, so when I step back into work, I can do so with gusto, and with a fresh spirit of problem-solving enthusiasm.
Unfortunately, most people can't say things like this. Have you ever thought about how insulting and pathetic that is?
Insulting to what? one might ask. Well Jesus. insulting to your humanity.
I mean, is this civilization? Here in Japan there is actually a term for "death from overwork," and it is not a joke. It is a real problem here. This problem though, if evaluated honestly, is not exclusive to any one modern, first world culture.
There is this pressure that most everyone feels, and I call it the "hamster wheel."
The nature of the pressure is basically this:
You don't have enough time! Hurry! Pay money so your power isn't shut off! Hurry! More papers! You need a permit! Watch movies and drink beer! Go to school every day and learn nothing! It is crucially important for you to do this breathtakingly unimportant job! Hurry!
Now, I am no way against hard work (or beer. Movies kind of suck. J.D. Salinger was right). Actually, the only time I really feel happy is when I am "hustling from the heart" (new gangsta rap love song compilation title?) and deep into research, writing, or some other discovery/problem-solving process. I love physical labor, too. ANYTHING. As long as it has a meaning for me and I desire to do it, naturally and sans coercion or threats thereof.
The form this gratifying exertion takes is different for everyone. The word is "passion."
Some people like planting gardens. Others love mathematics and engineering. Still others are musicians. Yet others are philosophers. Doctors. Poets. Bakers. Street sweepers. I doesn't matter. If you are working from your heart and from a place of purpose and passion, then there really is no hamster wheel.
The beauty of the free market is that, in their most happy state, NOBODY IS "LAZY." Needs would be met and new and innovative solutions supplied "effortlessly" and beautifully.
As it stands now, however, many of us cannot seem to get out of the wheel. We have children to support. Families. Bills. Taxes. Pay or die, fuckhead. And we call this pay-or-be-caged/die system known as taxation "civilized."
Theft is civilized. ("taxes")
Murder is acceptable. ("war")
Run on the Hamster wheel. ("work")
Feed that machine.
Ignore the miracle that is your life.
Everybody must "chip in."
NO. To the junkyard with the hamster wheel. Nobody can scrap it but you, and nobody but you knows how it is to be done in your life. There are practical things to consider, but ultimately, what is more practical than living YOUR LIFE in a way that it can be truly, fully, and deeply ENJOYED in your brief time on this planet?
Shuffling some papers around for some fucking guy no one will remember in 50 years and never seeing your kids or wife, working "overtime," just to pay a bunch of thugs called "the state" seems just about impractical as it gets, if your end game is to make a difference, leave a legacy, or simply to find happiness for yourself and help others.
This is why building our tribes is so important. Find your community. Find your tribe. If it is not there, build it.
I hope blockchain technology and the ever widening gap between centralized models and decentralized models will paint us a clear picture of what is at stake. It is inevitable. At the end, there are two types of people:
Those who love freedom for themselves enough to make changes to bring it about, and those who are too afraid, and so accept that the hamster wheel is "just how it is."
Nah. Fuck "just how it is." We are human, and I intend to live as such.
A friend of mine recently said to me that, if you are afraid to be yourself, there is a reason for that. You should find that reason. Maybe it is your boss? What will he/she think of you? Maybe, it is religious or cultural programming. Whatever it is, he said, you should find the reason. Maybe you need to quit your job. Maybe you need to talk with someone. The point is, it's nothing to run from or feel guilty or afraid about. It is simply a problem to be solved on your path. Evolution. Self-development. And self-development is all there is. Self-interest is beautiful. To you altruists out there who will say this is not true, try helping others when you are unhappy inside. It just won't work.
~KafkA
Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, creator, and peaceful parent residing in Niigata City, Japan. Graham runs the "Voluntary Japan" online initiative with a presence here on Steem, as well as Facebook and Twitter. (Hit me up so I can stop talking about myself in the third person!)
