Rootman
03-13-2002, 03:30 PM
Hey, all. I have what I think is MY answer to the .25 life crisis, but I'll introduce myself first. I'm 28, married with no kids, and I've been in the Navy for over a decade. I'm making good money as an officer, but I loathe my job--it's just too darn BORING and INCONSEQUENTIAL. I'm getting out in just under two years, and I still don't know what I'm gonna do. I would simply go for my dream, but I HAVE NO DREAMS. I would guess that many of you have the same affliction. Not having a dream to shoot for should be liberating, but it isn't. At first, I decided that $$ wasn't all that important, and that personal fulfillment and job enjoyment were primary, followed by leisure time. Of course, I'm having trouble selecting a job that I can do for the rest of my life. I've explored everything from marine biology to med school to writing, and nothing seems a perfect fit. Even if I did find a great job, heck, even if I won the lotto and never had to work again, I'd have trouble rationalizing my existence. Some of you may disagree, but a life of leisure alone is not fulfilling, diverting and amusing, but not fulfilling. I can't believe I wrote that; 6 years ago I would have flamed such metaphysical trash. Anyways, I think I was simply born at the wrong time. 10,000 years earlier would have been perfect. Hunting, gathering, tending to life's basic necessities, hard work, nature, and having fun when you could--that's my idea of Utopia. If I did win the lotto, that's what i'd do. I'd establish a community of sorts, like the Amish, but with no restrictions on the use of technology or medicine, and with no religious mandates. It would be a place of total mental freedom and physical usefulness. It would be a place where people could concentrate on the really important things in life. Like a colossal Walden, with computers, doctors, and barn-raisings all at the same time. Back to the basics is the answer. If you ask me, people today have lost track of what is really important. The important issues, that are different for each person, have been obscured by traffic jams, 9-5 office jobs, fast food car lunches, fluorescent light, suits and ties, SUV's, and "must see TV." I read a sci-fi short story once that made quite an impression on me, even though I was really young. A space ship crew was returning to Earth after the first light speed mission to another galaxy, but they couldn't make contact, not even once they were in orbit. They landed, and found the whole planet had reverted to small farming communities. At first, they lamented the loss of technology and knowledge. But, in the end, they came to realize that in the 500 years that they had been gone, progress had not stopped, the world had simply left them behind. The reason they couldn't make contact was that their space-age radio was obsolete. The farmers had much more advanced technology, but chose to live a simple life. That's what we have to do. I advocate a return to simple living, adapting technology to suite our needs rather than adapting ourselves to new technology. Unfortunately, I don't have hundreds of thousands of dollars to kick this project off. If any wealthy philanthropists read this and want to lend a hand, drop me a line. Have fun out there.