I have always wondered, if anything worthwhile is achievable without pain. I don't mean the pain that you undergo doing what you've always wanted to do, like an athlete feels while training for a big match or even what an entrepreneur might feel while doing stuff that's gonna make his dream come true.
The pain I am talking about is the same as that the slaves in the galleys floating in Atlantic in the 18th century felt. They knew that they had to keep working in order to survive, they also knew that the consequences would be swift if they're not followed... but then that isn't the kind of work that inspires passion, desire, hope!
IN the name of our lord and saviour jesus, let down your arms and kill yourselves. That's a random statement, I don't know where it crept inside from. Maybe I was thinking about all those Crusaders who gave up their lives for something they believed desperately in. Now, I am not judging them, but the fact remains that whatever their motivations might have been, they were pretty pumped in doing whatever they were doing.
The line of work that we are engaging in, that I engage in offers no redemption, except that it gives the promise of still more work at a higher rate of compensation. There's no meaning to it, even at that point and if I had the courage to give up the dreams of the 'big' life, then there'd be no reason at all to follow through.
Our culture, the work hard, achieve whatever you dream and losers are just quitters culture doesn't recognise the worth of human existence beyond the paradigm of a cob. We're the part of a system and everyone must work within those very boundaries. It's an efficient system, something that's essential to the survival of the billions who feed off of it and enjoy the luxuries that it provides. But still, why do I search for meaning and why do I abhor this meaningless work? What is wrong with me?
It's next to impossible to admit that majority of the people aren't happy with the way that things are. It's the reality, of course, and denying it would land you in some mental institute where they'd shock you to acceptance. But, the question is that why should we, I mean all of us we, participate in something that seems to suck the meaning out of my life and give me things that I necessarily didn't want in exchange. Maybe Zuckerberg finds meaning in joining the world, the CEOs find meaning in being rich and powerful and politicians find meaning in controlling other people and so on. Maybe I am not as go getting as them, which is why I don't have the incredible luxury of having meaning in my work.
The work that most of the people on the globe do feeds off into the global repository of man hours for certain individuals, whose vision is driving the world. I am not even sure if the bankers, financiers, traders, administrators, analysts and myriad other drivers of our world find meaning in their work. I guess, meaning is all about finding what's important to you and then generating the resources to translate that into reality. That's freedom too. And the 'rat race' we are in is about being allowed to translate our personal visions into reality, rather than working for someone else's.
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