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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."
"And after that?" asked the Mexican.
"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 middle man, you can then 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 new enterprise."
"How long would that take?" asked the Mexican.
"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the American.
"And after that?"
"Afterwards? Well my friend, that's when it gets really interesting," answered the American, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start buying and selling stocks and make millions!"
"Millions? Really? And after that?" asked the Mexican.
"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 with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends."
And the moral of this story is: ......... Know where you're going in life... you may already be there.
My friend that offed himself last fall lived on the land the last month he was alive. He just caught fish, brought them to this old dog of a Vietnam vet, cooked them, ate, smoked, and just bull shit all day long.
One time me and him found some boomers in a field we were fishing in, I'm glad I let him have them. At least he got to trip before he left this world.
Long story short; I have a lot of respect for anyone that just lives off the land. In a way that is how we were meant to live, until ambition took over. This story in a way, shows the futility of ambition really.
None the less my dad would kick my ass if I dropped out of college.
-------------------- "Je pense, donc je suis (I am thinking, therefore I am)." -Rene Descartes
our lives are gifts to us, given for free, and society chooses to enslave us and make us live how it will benefit our society, not how it will benefit our lives and the lives of others,
Imagine a world where there is just peace, no currency everything is provided from the land, and everyone helps each other
no jobs, just living life, providing what we need, and enjoying ourselves while we do it,
there is no rules to the universe, we are such a random event, we should be doing whatever we want!
-------------------- [quote]
“You see this glass bong?” asks Achaan Chaa, the Thai meditation master. “For me this glass is already broken. I enjoy it; I smoke out of it. It holds my water admirably, sometimes even reflecting the sun in beautiful patterns. If I should tap it, it has a lovely ring to it. But when I put this glass bong on the shelf and the wind knocks it over or my elbow brushes it off the table and it falls to the ground and shatters, I say, ‘Of course.’ When I understand that the glass is already broken, every moment with it is precious.”[/quote]
Quote: Harlz said: So true, I think about this everyday,
our lives are gifts to us, given for free, and society chooses to enslave us and make us live how it will benefit our society, not how it will benefit our lives and the lives of others,
Imagine a world where there is just peace, no currency everything is provided from the land, and everyone helps each other
no jobs, just living life, providing what we need, and enjoying ourselves while we do it,
there is no rules to the universe, we are such a random event, we should be doing whatever we want!
You can do it. But once electricity gets involved we have jobs.
Now wouldn't it be great to make a gated community where everyone lived off the land.
I'm growing a garden in my pack yard this summer.
Tomatoes, Watermelon, and anything else that looks good come planting season.
-------------------- "Je pense, donc je suis (I am thinking, therefore I am)." -Rene Descartes
I think the problem is that our communities are too large. Small self sufficient communities where people have simple roles and work together have been successful for millenia... In between the cracks of every fallen society and era, humans were doing the same thing we always have; living off the land. Building, hunting, fishing, gathering and working with your neighbor to enjoy a richer life.
We've devalued those menial tasks and deemed people without a college degree obsolete.
Clever greedy people lured us into tight little metropolitan machines with ipods and cheeseburgers.
I quit college to become a traveler, musician, and film photographer. I don't make much money, I might make more when more people recognize my work, but that's not important.
I hear a version of this story at least on a weekly basis by different people. "Why don't you go back to college so you can get a degree and make more money?" why do I need more money? "...so you can prosper in life and buy the things you want and retire by the time you're 50. After that you will have enough money and FINALLY have the time to travel the world and see what life really has to offer..."
This is when I look the person in the eyes, smile, and say thanks for the advice.
I have just about everything I want/need right now, and I'll be spending my whole life traveling, rather than wasting half my life just to be able to do the same thing.
I have never understood the overpowering greed in American society I guess being a capitalistic nation has something to do with it but I have never wanted much more than I needed to get by
I think the original post has a novel value to it, and in a perfect world(well almost perfect) that would be true but I just don't see it happening. Say the mexican fisherman falls ill and needs money for doctor/hospital bills what then? If he only makes enough to get by then what does he do? Don't get me wrong, i'm not trying to start an argument or anything of the such but you can't just float through life "getting by". Not everybody at least
Quote: tsollost said: I think the original post has a novel value to it, and in a perfect world(well almost perfect) that would be true but I just don't see it happening. Say the mexican fisherman falls ill and needs money for doctor/hospital bills what then? If he only makes enough to get by then what does he do? Don't get me wrong, i'm not trying to start an argument or anything of the such but you can't just float through life "getting by". Not everybody at least
discuss....
That is what my father has done.
He has worked at the same factory since highschool, he is 51.
He was a superviser before my mom first started geting ill, he got depressed and just couldn't do it. They demoted him but he makes the most of anyone else on the floor, and all he does it carpentry work. And my father loves carpentry.
He to this day still only makes $12.00 though, and even with my moms $2000+ a month Medical bills we still get by. We live in the house he was raised in, most of the work done on it, gas, electrical, plumbing, mechanics, he all does.
Sometimes I feel sorry for the fact he has HAD to do this, but my dad was able to at least found a way to try to enjoy it. They have tried to spoil me as much as they could, even if never much.
Got school though, just saying my dad has been just getting by since high school. and he seemed to do it just fine.
-------------------- "Je pense, donc je suis (I am thinking, therefore I am)." -Rene Descartes
that's cool, i'm glad he's able to do that for you and your family. my mom got sick several years ago and fought the good fight for a while. she had to go out on disability and had she not been very good with money (along with a lot of good family) we would have been up shit creek.
Quote: tsollost said: that's cool, i'm glad he's able to do that for you and your family. my mom got sick several years ago and fought the good fight for a while. she had to go out on disability and had she not been very good with money (along with a lot of good family) we would have been up shit creek.
Yea to me he is the paragon of my beliefs. He lives his life how I try my own. I know you see me arguing about the mentally handicapped subject, but in reality I would hate it to be actually real for that to happen. I just think that the world would rally be better. You honestly can't question that fact.
But yea, idk when my mom got really sick because I was young and I can't remember a lot of large portions of time. It wasn't horrible then, it only got really bad around 5th grade, when I was in middle school she flat lined a few times and had her gallbladder removed. Then in high school she would get in the hospital once every coupe seasons. And she was in a medically induced coma for like a school year. Most people i know in real life don't know that though, or any of this actually.
But the fact that my dad stays with her and has never left her and is OK with spending 60-70% of his paycheck on her medical bills astounds me.
-------------------- "Je pense, donc je suis (I am thinking, therefore I am)." -Rene Descartes
-------------------- niteowl said: See, that term pedo gets thrown around a lot.
Is a 16 year old guy having sex w/a 16 year old girl a pedophile?
If not, then how is a 30 year old considered a pedophile for doing the same thing?
I think y'all need to look up the definition for pedophile.
Quote: tsollost said: I think the original post has a novel value to it, and in a perfect world(well almost perfect) that would be true but I just don't see it happening. Say the mexican fisherman falls ill and needs money for doctor/hospital bills what then? If he only makes enough to get by then what does he do? Don't get me wrong, i'm not trying to start an argument or anything of the such but you can't just float through life "getting by". Not everybody at least
discuss....
Very good point, and this is something that worries me when I think about it. To me, I would rather live life the way I want now and if/when something like that happens I'll deal with it then. To prepare a little, I take a large portion of every paycheck and any extra money that I have and put it into a savings account that I never touch, it's my "retirement and major emergency fund".
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