I’ve been without my laptop for the last 2 weeks. It seems that my power adapter got fried by the somewhat unpredictable nature of Peruvian electricity. At least I hope that’s the problem, if it turns out to be my laptop (which still runs fine on battery power, except the battery died long ago) then I have a serious problem.
I’m sort of still able to work from internet cafes and the computer in my Spanish school, but it’s not ideal and so I’ve essentially taken a holiday away from my computer which is why I’ve been quiet of late.
Anyway, I’m starting to feel like I have quite a few things to write about again, so hopefully posting will resume next week.
Hi guys, sorry I’ve been a bit quiet of late, I just haven’t felt like writing lately, but all is well and I’ve had a pretty good couple of weeks. Anyway, I just wanted to add a few more thoughts (from others) on normality, following from my post ‘There’s nothing good about normal!‘ a few weeks back.
First of all, Carissa just added a new comment and seeing as though most people don’t often go back and read comments from old threads I thought it deserved greater prominence. She wrote:
“Was re-reading this entry and I thought of some additional things that are now seen as “normal” in our society but which aren’t.
It’s now normal to root for people to fail and fall on their butts, and to see people as competition, versus cheering for people to succeed and being happy for them. There are several reasons for this I think - so many people’s lives are unhappy and unfulfilling (which in itself is a point that I’ll get back to) that they can’t stand to see people achieving something good and being happy when they aren’t. They want to tear them down to their own level. So watching somebody fail or screw up or fall on their butt (figuratively speaking) becomes fun in an evil gleeful way. (hence, the *tabloid culture,* which specializes in that. Tear people down for the paparazzi pics capturing them with celulite on their thighs, no makeup, wrinkles, or an outfit that’s not deemed “haute couture” enough. Look on in giddy glee when their relationships fall apart, look for the drugs, sex and cheating scandals after they’ve died so even in death they can be raked over the coals.) This is now considered normal. Which leads to how celeb-obsessed entertainment is now considered normal. Following the minutae of celebs’ lives because people’s own lives are boring and pointless.
The jealousy/competition thing is an extreme manifestation of separation. Instead of viewing ourselves as related pieces of a greater whole, they mistakenly think we’re all cut off from each other and completely separate…and thus, competition to be jealous of. So it’s now considered normal to be separate, competitive, jealous, gossipy and mean spirited. Not everybody is like that, but in certain regions (urban centers in particular) that attitude is prevailant. We have movies and TV shows that celebrate this attitude, with backbiting and cat fights and scheming and plotting and jealousies galore, trying to tell people, “This is how you should be. This is the new normal. Strive for this. Emulate this.”
And as just mentioned, it’s now considered normal to have an unfulfilling, mundane and possibly unhappy life. You mentioned how it’s considered normal to hang with one’s friends being superficial and mundane (I definitely agree!) and this extends to one’s entire life in general. I look around at people and I can’t believe the lives and jobs that most people have locked themselves into! o_0 Like, who would WANT to do that……for years on end?!?!?! Is that what they imagined for themselves as a kid??! Who grows up saying “I want to be an accounting clerk who’s always irritated and frustrated obsessing over getting the numbers to balance!” Nobody. Or, “I want to be a stressed out executive assistant to a boss I don’t like, being run ragged every day!” Nobody. Or, “I want to become a corporate guy working for donor relations and attend endless mindless meetings where it’s all about ‘How can I get more money for the university?’ !” Nobody. Jobs with no life to them, no variety, no real point, *working for that which is illusory,* so that one can insure that they can keep paying the bills every month. To me it’s a life not worth having. Work should ideally be about producing something tangible……….not working for illusory concepts. (I once wrote in one of my articles: “Banks, loans, credit cards, debt counseling and consolidation, taxes, personal investment, mortgages, car/home/boat/personal insurance, law firms, home owners associations — what I’ve found is that the number of useless, illusory industries is skyrocketing, while jobs that create an actual tangible product and serve a useful purpose are on the decline. [...] What good is it going to do anybody to be a financial investor, lawyer, paralegal, mortgage underwriter, IRS agent, insurance salesperson, credit card telemarketer or property manager enforcing rules for the Association about mowing your lawn and power washing your driveway when/if things finally really hit the fan? These people will kind of be up the creek, to put it lightly. Their jobs and industries are completely useless in every sense of the word. So since illusion is what now dominates your job market choices, it’s all the more reason to find a way out, ASAP.”
Illusory concepts is now considered the norm, instead of making or doing something tangible and meaningful.
I work with people who’ve been doing the same lifeless, pointless job for 20, 25, 30 years. I can’t even IMAGINE. The worse part is when I encounter coworkers who hate their jobs and complain and gripe and moan and groan….and then what happens when I nonchalantly suggest to them that they quit. Their faces get a wide eyed, surprised look, like, “huh?!” You can see them running into a wall with the idea. It never occurrred to them to leave. They think I’m weird for suggesting such a thing. You don’t…..quit your job! They think it’s normal that you hate your job and complain and be miserable for years and years on end!
I can think of many more so-called normal ways of being in the modern western world that are anything but normal, but I’ll stop here! :D ’Cause
I could go on all day, seriously…..”
Great stuff Carissa, I agree entirely!
Also, about a week after I made the original post, I discovered Paulo Coelho also looked at the subject of normality on his blog. Given that I’m connected with him through Facebook and that he might have seen my blog post in his newsfeed I wondered if he was influenced by my post, but then I noticed he posted it in January so he was first.
A musician friend of mine, Cornelius, from London (well he’s Irish actually) has come up with the slogan “Do what you love, it’s your gift to the universe“. He’s a musician/songwriter who I definitely recommend you check out, and he plays a lot of the alternative UK music festivals.
Anyway, more than I want to promote Cornelius (which I’m always happy to do - check out his blog, music site and t-shirt store), I want to promote the importance of doing what you love, because I think Cornelius is so right in what he says.
Doing what you love is just so important if you want to live a happy and fulfilling life (and I’m assuming here that doing what you love won’t harm another human being in anyway).
Not only is it important for your own wellbeing, it really is important for the whole world and even the universe. Imagine a world in which every single person was doing what they truly loved. Would there still be wars, hate, disharmony, depression, unhappiness? I don’t think so.
Consider these not so good statistics:
Major depression is the No.1 psychological disorder in the western world. (source)
In the UK, 1 in 4 people will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year. (source)
In 2006/7 530,000 people in the UK suffered from work-related stress, depression or anxiety (source)
Why is that? Why are so many people unhappy?
Well, on the surface, people get depressed or unhappy for a countless number of different reasons. But I think you could probably distill almost all those reasons to one single reason - which is that they’re not doing what they love.
So many people have jobs they hate, and even relationships they hate, but they feel hopelessly trapped in them. People growing up in the western world are conditioned from a young age to believe that they need to get good qualifications in order to get a good career, so they can live a nice comfortable life, probably get married, have the obligatory 2.4 kids, nice house (with a not so nice mortgage), nice car, and whatever else it takes to keep up with the Jones’ next door. Then if you’re lucky you’ll retire at 65 with a nice pension, and you can relax and take it easy….until you die! Woohoo! What a great fucking life that is! (if you’ll pardon my french!). No wonder everyone’s so bloody depressed!
I interupt this post with a short commercial break, put together by the makers of South Park featuring the voice of the late great Alan Watts.
The fact is most jobs and ‘good careers’ are boring as hell. They don’t fulfil you in any meaningful way, they don’t give you any meaningful recognition for the amazing being that you truly are, and they sure as shit don’t make you happy.
Here’s the problem. Most people are just too afraid to take risks, they’re too afraid of what other people think, and they’re too afraid of failure.
If you’re not already doing what you love (and my hat off to you if you are!) then I’m absolutely sure that you have a secret dream of what you’d much rather be doing other than your current boring, crappy job! But, you keep that dream a secret don’t you? And for whatever reason you probably believe it will always remain a dream, and nothing more!
Well here’s a friendly rocket up your ass! Please get over yourself, get over your fears, and most of all get over what you think everyone else might think about dreams. You can’t change your family, but if your friends won’t support you then they’re not authentic friends so get rid of them, and find friends you know will encourage and support you.
What’s the point of living an unhappy and unfulfilled life? What’s the point of having dreams if you can’t realise them (or at least try to realise them). There is no point.
Please wake up! Know that you really can create the life you want. Know that your dreams can come true. Know that you have nothing worthwhile to lose, and everything to gain by chasing your dreams and doing what you love.
And also know that what you’ve been conditioned to believe by western culture (ie that you need to make lots of money, and have a good career, to be happy and fulfilled) is the biggest load of bullshit that’s ever been sold.
I’ll leave you with the story of the Mexican Fisherman….
The Mexican Fisherman
A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.
“Not very long,” answered the Mexican.
“But then, why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?” asked the American.
The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.
The American asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”
“I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs…I have a full life.”
The American interrupted, “I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you!
“You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat. With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers.
“Instead of selling your fish to a middleman, you can negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge enterprise.”
“How long would that take?” asked the Mexican.
“Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years,” replied the American.
“And after that?”
“Afterwards? That’s when it gets really interesting,” answered the American, laughing. “When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!”
“Millions? Really? And after that?”
“After that you’ll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta, and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends!”
A couple of people have asked me how I’m able to make a living while travelling, or do I have a huge stash of money in the bank? (I wish!!).
I actually don’t have any savings and unfortunately my bank account is depressingly low on funds a great deal of the time. So how do I do it?
Well I’m fortunate enough to be able to take my work with me, pretty much wherever I go. I just need a reasonable internet connection.
For several years nows I’ve been a freelance web designer and internet marketing consulting. I don’t usually have a huge amount of work on at any one time (which is how I like it) but it’s almost always enough for me to get buy. I live a simple life and I’m not someone who’s prone to buying ’stuff’ all the time. Most of what I spend my money on is food, drink, rent and a few simple pleasures. No doubt here in Peru I’ll end up spending quite a bit on various travel and adventure activities in the area.
Virtually all my clients are still back in the UK and most of them have come to me through recommendations so they trust that I can still do the work even though I might be 5000 miles away on a different continent. I keep in touch with my clients through Skype and email and it’s working well for me so far.
It’s great being in Peru because everything is so cheap for someone getting paid even a basic ‘western’ income. On average I make between £150 and £250 for a days work. My rent is currently about £135 a month. So as you can see I don’t need to be busy all the time in order to afford to live and travel.
If anyone needs help with their website or internet marketing then please get in touch. You can find out about my web design services at http://www.newearthvision.biz
