9 to 5

[poliphilo]

The kind of life that everyone is supposed to want- safe, secure, prosperous, no serious worries or upsets, steady employment, 2.5 children- all that sort of thing-  is the kind that people are most likely to regret when they look back from the lip of the grave. On the other hand a rackety sort of life, full of changes of scenery and fortune- with slidings up and down the social scale- is the kind they're most likely to be pleased with.

We're not timorous beasties, us humans- we're designed for hardship and adventure. Our brains and bodies are adaptable and resilient. They crave the fullest exercise we can give them. 9 to 5 is not really what we want.

I look back and, by and large, the things I'm proudest of are the risks I took.

Comments

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

I get that, big time! :o)

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

I sure have had my ups and downs and never loved the nine to five mentality. Looks like another major change is on the cards soon.

[artkouros.livejournal.com]

"Getting money, getting love, getting fed, getting fucked up
Human nature, it's human nature"
- Caught a Ghost, Human Nature

[sorenr.livejournal.com]

I would actually rather like at least a period of 9-5 tedium... No moving around, no impulsive moves; just settling down a little and enjoying my friends and my new house.

But that's probably not going to happen. Something always crops up.

[matrixmann]

Just a similar reason for why I keep telling people which still have the choice: Why do you wanna do that stunt with spouse / lifemate, house, children, big parking parking before it? Why do you wanna live the same kind of life that all people live?
If it's people that I know, I always wonder "once you were so enthusiastic about not wanting all this shit and do an alternative way of life, but now you're like the total square - I can't believe that you really want this or I must have missed something in between..."
Especially people which, due to their circumstances of life, can't walk this way I tell this as a rhetoric question. I don't understand what's so good about the standard.

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

Sadly, some of us are timorous beasties and we really, really like the idea of a secure home and a job-for-life...

[ideealisme.livejournal.com]

Anon comment was me.

[tamnonlinear.livejournal.com]

I'm proudest of the times I've been able to help others. That's easiest to do when you yourself aren't struggling. A steady job may not be the most fulfilling thing in the world, but for a lot of people, it isn't anything more than what allows them to do what they feel really matters. I don't particularly want a life full of racket- risks in my life have proven to be ways to lose, not ways to win. I'd rather have a small life, a comfortable life, and right now I really, really wish that included a boring, steady employment, because the lack of it isn't a fun slide up and down the social scale, it's a fairly steady descent. I don't want personal excitement, I want to have enough stability that I can help those that don't have that.

I see what you're saying, and I know it works better for a lot of folks that way, but we need all sorts of people. All those boring little workers with their smaller lives provide the warp and weft of society. Not everyone wants to be the bold decoration or the brightest parts of the tapestry. It's fine to say it isn't what you want, and I'm glad you know and have done more of what you do want, but it's just meanness to deride the folks that show up every day and make sure things get done even if they aren't exciting.

[veronica-milvus.livejournal.com]

Good point. I might have blown it.