Mrs Koda noticed something last week, while participating in a neighborhood project. I didn't participate as much, because I'm one of those nasty, cynical types.
I've seen this for a while, but it's always nice when someone else notices something.
Mormons don't live.
Or if they do live, they're living to die.
There are some things they enjoy, but by and large, they're simply enduring this life to get to the next. Once they die, then they'll get their reward, and then they can enjoy themselves.
I don't know if it's related, but I've noticed something when I speak with self-professed capitalists.
I'm finding an increasingly intense dislike for a culture where it's all about work. Work, work, work, and all so we can get more stuff. Stuff we don't use, but which we store in increasingly larger houses. And with the larger houses, we have to work more to afford them. It's a cycle which seems ever perpetuating.
On all occasions recently when sharing these concerns with 'Capitalists' and expounding the virtues of the socialist system in New Zealand, they always bring up the same argument...
But where does the motivation to work come from?
The truth of the matter is that in my experience, those who live in a socialist system don't really have a motivation to work, rather they have a motivation to live and to enjoy life.
Work isn't the object of their existence, it's merely something which allows it to happen. Recreation, family and life are the object of their existences, and it's achievable without the wide-screen plasma TV, the large SUV and then 4-wheelers.
I'm 1 for 3 right now, and if I had the money, I'd probably go after the other 2... Must work more!!!
I'm trying to get myself to a different mindset though. One where I can enjoy life more, and I'm not constantly focused on work, and the acquisition of stuff.
Like Mormonism, it's something which has been force fed into my mind for most of my life, but like Mormonism too, I think it's something I can overcome.
Wholeheartedly agree about the work aspect Koda. I too am a well trained capitalist (and former mormon), thus I hesitate to jump on the socialist band wagon just yet. That said, don't let out the secret!!!
ReplyDeleteI work very little, have plenty of free time, and more than enough money to support my minimalist lifestyle (19" flat screen, old paid for Jeep CJ7, and affordable home). My business does well enough to allow for a beautiful life, but if my customer base is comprised of less consuming socialists I perceive it will become more difficult for me to hide out. I truly do feel as though I'm hiding out in this economy and I don't want anyone to catch on in fear of losing my cherished lifestyle.
The good news is there is very little to worry about in letting out the secret. I let out the secret on one level or another to everyone I meet and they NEVER follow...and they rarely ever ask to hear more. Just like Mormons not being able to manage truth and logic when it questions faith, our capitalist neighbors are likewise unable to cease the competition of acquiring compared to their neighbors or gaining prestige among friends and family and.....GOD BLESS THEM!
Do you have the wide screen or the SUV? (I'm thinking about a wide screen, but only because they are more energy efficient and I'm getting tired of moving my chair close to the TV to see it....but I think 32" for $300 is the max I'll go....yup, I'm still a rationalizing capitalist too).
Excellent, Koda. I hadn't thought of this before.
ReplyDeleteBy the time you're able enough to afford everything you want, you're too old to fully enjoy it. Which may be an unfair statement, but you get my drift. Unless, of course, you spend your life doing what you love. I don't imagine too many people do.
And by the time you believe you're supposed to enjoy the fruits of all that enduring, you're dead.
God, what a horrible let down. What a waste.
Thanks Lisa!
ReplyDeleteMontello... Sadly I have the TV. After I won a bet of sorts with Mrs Koda some years ago, I got to select the entertainment system in our bedroom. After some haggling she talked me down to a 52"... I wanted a 60", and I got a low end 5.1 surround sound system too. I think when considering going more minimalist, this would be the hardest for me to give up.
Given the size of my brood though, the large SUV may have been a better move. Of course I'm currently driving an 15 year old Geo with 250k miles on it, and not planning on quitting it anytime soon... Of course I put my bike on the back of the car, and it's value goes up about 1000%. And it's not a very expensive bike either!