Have the Time?

Have the time?


As I sit here and stare at this computer, I am left pondering what I am doing with my life. What any of us are doing? We sit in rooms and do meaningless tasks all day. Don't get me wrong, I love my work, and get to be creative, well for the most part. But it is still work and in the big scheme of things, meaningless. There are more things to the human experience than advertising, corporate structure and shuffling paper! And why do we do these things? The pursuit of money, so we can participate in the same boring activities and way of life which was created to keep us working and spending.

So I sit here and dream of a simpler time. A time when people worked to survive. They owned their own land and farmed it. They did it as a family. When is the last time you saw a member of your family for more than an hour or two on a work day? We are all out running around like lab rats, chasing money and trying to survive so we can afford gas, numerous electronic devices and a sense of feeling normal. But what is normal?
Is living in a rectangular box twenty stories up normal? Is living on credit cards and in debt normal? Is working 60 hours a week and never seeing your family normal? Unfortunately in today's America it is. And there seems to be no end or way out. And still I sit here and wonder if I can somehow change this. Maybe I should buy a farm? I want to do something meaningful with my life. I want to experience the world and not by any corporate or commercial means. Sometimes I think maybe I should become a Buddhist monk? Can I live a simple life in touch with my inner mind and soul? I have tried meditation, but am usually interrupted by some sound or thought that involves a cell phone or anxiety over work I have to do. And then I think, is this how those people that live in compounds got started, by just wanting a simpler life? And were they then persecuted because they were not going with the “norm” of society?

As much as I try to separate myself from what has become the "norm of society, I am but a slave to the system, we all our. Most people are oblivious to the fact and go about their daily lives accepting what is presented to them. I am not saying I hate my life or anyone else does, what I have a problem with is the system in which we have to live our lives. I still believe America is the greatest country in the world and am grateful to be able to live the way I do, but it seems to me that so many have lost touch of what it is to really live and are only concerned with money. And corporate America is the biggest culprit of this kind of behavior. They need us to spend money so they can become wealthier and I am playing right into their hands everyday like a good little servant. Can I really live a simple life on my own farm with my family? Should more of us live this kind of life? Am I alone, or if I ran for President someday could I get elected on a platform of a mandatory 4 day work week? I don’t have a problem with hard work, in fact I excel at it, but what am I working for? Some people work hard because they have a family to take care of or they have the desire to be the best at what they do.
But the point I am getting at is, when do we have time for our families? Or to get out of this box and experience the world’s touch, smell and feel! So I am back to my original question. What am I doing with my life? I am currently working hard to reach my career goals. But I am left with no time to experience all the things I want to in life. It is a vicious cycle. I often think about working to make enough money to buy my own island and live a quiet and simple life away from society and its many material conquests. I love technology. Yet as I type away on this computer I can’t stop thinking of that farm or sitting on my island away from everyone. Are we all blinded by what society has become? Are we forgetting to really experience life? Or maybe we realize it and just don’t have time to enjoy or do anything about it.