I’d like to start off by making a pledge to refrain from as many stupid cliches as possible right now. This isn’t one of those “I’m at a crossroad in my life right now” kind of ranting. I personally think that every day you live can be a crossroad of sorts.
Now then…to begin, I’ll simply point out that for my age, situation, and general station in life, I’m not doing too badly. I have a decent job that pays fairly well. I have benefits. I have room for advancement. You know . . . all the stuff that people seem to equate with a good job. However, as I look at the paths ahead of me, I stop and wonder why I bother at all. I like my job, but it’s not in a field that I could at all imagine a career in. Of course, I had been planning on going back to college, but even that is a decision I am starting to question. Learning is something I enjoy very much. However, I find that I learn just as much, if not more, on my own than I do when I am at school. College does appeal to me, however I just don’t see it as a real learning environment. It’s more of a place you go for a few years, get a sheet of paper, and feel entitled to get paid more than you did before you got that paper. Afterwards, about all that’s really left is to settle into a job that doesn’t make you completely suicidal. Find a spouse you can tolerate enough to raise a few kids together. Then you end up dying of autoerotic asphyxiation in your mid-to-late sixties or something along those lines. I’m sure you get my drift.
The main problem I have here is that, except for a few rare instances (less than you’d imagine), very few of us do anything of significance. We are born, we live, we might procreate a little, and then we die. Oh sure, perhaps we will write a song, make a movie, or decimate a rainforest, but that’s nothing that really special. The world is still hopelessly ignorant, completely oblivious (indifferent at best) to all the horrors that we spread, the joys that lie hidden, and the mysteries that we live.
Is that really what all this is about? I sure hope not.
Well Jimmy my friend, your life is what you make it. No you probably won’t make even the tiniest dent in history in any way. Why? Why not? Does it matter? As long as you enjoy your life, make each minute count, be kind, understanding and loving to your fellow man, what exactly is it that you want? To wake up every morning to a new day is quite an accomplishment.
Maybe the problem with most people (myself included), too many things are taken for granted. If you appreciate all the things in life individually, one day you’ll look back and smile and decide it was definitely worth it.
I’ve learned that if someone says something unkind about me, I must live so that no one will believe it.
‘of significance’ to whom? If all you want is for the world to worship you, then you may very well find things continue to depress you. Find a partner, spend your lives together and raise a family - it won’t change the world for everyone, but it will change it for you and your family. You may dismiss this as not far-reaching or cosmic enough, but it keeps a lot of people happy.
{{{…College does appeal to me, however I just don’t see it as a real learning environment. It’s more of a place you go for a few years, get a sheet of paper, and feel entitled to get paid more than you did before you got that paper… …The main problem I have here is that, except for a few rare instances (less than you’d imagine), very few of us do anything of significance. We are born, we live, we might procreate a little, and then we die. Oh sure, perhaps we will write a song, make a movie, or decimate a rainforest, but that’s nothing that really special. The world is still hopelessly ignorant, completely oblivious (indifferent at best) to all the horrors that we spread, the joys that lie hidden, and the mysteries that we live…}}}—Jimmy Quasar
Looks like you really want to get into teaching, but just haven’t realized it yet.
I hope you can see education in a different light than you do presently.
–Kalél Common ¢ for all ages…
“Well, there was that thing with the Cheese-Wiz…but I’m feeling much better now!” – John Astin, Night Court
“If ignorance is bliss, you must be orgasmic.”
You’ve run into a genuine dilemma, Jimmy, maybe The Dilemma. What’s it all about? What’s the point? Why should we bother doing anything when the universe itself will die out in so many trillion years?
The thing is, Jimmy, it’s all up to you. You write your own rule book, you decide how to make your life meaningful. You decide how you will measure your own success.
It sounds like you’re beginning to come to the conclusion that the easy answers we’re given while we grow up aren’t going to work for you. Bravo. Most people don’t ever get that perspective.
So you’ve got a job with good opportunities. So you’re going to college. But if these things don’t sing to your soul - if they don’t resonate within you and make you proud and joyous - then they aren’t worth anything. Worse, they impoverish you, because they take away from you the time and resources you need to accomplish what does sing to you.
I don’t know, perhaps I’m revealing my youthful idealism here… When I use the phrase “significant” I mean to humanity as a whole. Now I’m sure you are rolling your eyes at the idea that I know what’s best for us, but I believe such knowledge is instinctive. We all know what we need, but the mind-set of the culture in which we are raised tends to affect just how it is that we feel we can meet these needs.
We all need a healthy environment in which to live and to grow (both physically and mentally). We all need the freedom to do as we please without scorn, ridicule, or judgement. We also all need a common respect for our brothers and sisters on this planet and for all of the other entities with whom we share this world.
Of course our focus can get skewed at times, and we feel that money, laws, and fear will bring us what we need. We also misinterpret thing such as respect and love for pity and patronization.
Now, to address other issues:
IMO, there are only two legitimate reasons for relationships (in the “pair-bonding” sense of the word. These are procreation and companionship. Both of these reasons are fine and dandy, but when you put things into perspective you realize that, with the rate at which the population is soaring and the number of orphaned children, breeding isn’t in the best interest of just about anybody. Secondly, there is companionship. While I know the pains of being lonely as much as the next person, I just don’t think that it’s a very logical thing to devote yourself to another person. It breeds stagnation.
As for the suggestion that I might try taking up education…I have often considered that option. I do love to teach. I am a born educator and a born leader. I do both of these things fairly well, and I enjoy them. However, several things keep me at a safe distance from choosing this as a profession. First being that my desire for variety when it comes to learning is matched only by my desire for variety when it comes to teaching. I could never settle on a single thing. Secondly, my teaching methods have been called somewhat unorthodox, so I don’t know if I’d exactly be at home in an institutional learning environment. Not only are my teaching methods dear to me, but free reign over the curriculum is very important as well. I wouldn’t do perform well being told what to teach.
Now, I know this all sounds like pointless rhetoric, and perhaps it that is the case. However I do enjoy my pipe dreams of being able to educate people, and at least make the world a somewhat better place. Even if I fail in scope, at least it’s better than sticking my head in the sand like so many, many others.