Money

[Lateralus]

There must be a different way...

A way where others work to provide you with food and shelter while you do nothing? I suppose you could try to get some slaves, but that's not easy. It may actually require more effort.

 

[Atomic Fiend]

There are alternatives. A life of crime is always an option.

 

[prplchknz]

anyone who says money is over rated have never worried about how they're going to pay for food at any point in their lives

 

[Lexicon]

Alas. Even a life of crime is also work.
Whatever measures we take to ensure survival, whatever we are willing to trade our time for/compromise, barter, etc, when we feel like we'd prefer to do something else, I suppose, would be categorized as 'work.'
Everything we have can be replaced. Everything but time.

 

[chachamaru]

Everything we have can be replaced. Everything but time.

... you get it.

 

[JocktheMotie]

Money buys me time for myself, and to do the things I like to do.

 

[Arthur Schopenhauer]

Hm.

I feel as though my current job is making a waste of my abilities and that it is weakening my intellectual, physical, etc., growth. I also feel that it is a waste of my time, in ways, as it's not allowing me to produce things that I feel are meaningful. The work I do is boring and routine and mentally vacuous. It is Sisyphean.

However, and I have to admit this but even with its downsides, my job has allowed me to grow to the point that I currently am... I suppose it has allowed for a state of restricted liberty?

Crude.

 

[Lexicon]

Money buys me time for myself, and to do the things I like to do.

..not to mention creepy toeshoes, amirite?

 

[chachamaru]

..not to mention creepy toeshoes, amirite?

That's hella creepy.

Like a running, human-duck mutant. Not in a cute way, either.

 

[JocktheMotie]

..not to mention creepy toeshoes, amirite?

Those were completely worth it. They're in my car right now, ready to go

That's hella creepy.

Like a running, human-duck mutant. Not in a cute way, either.

You shut your dirty hippie mouth.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

The best answer I can give for those of you who hate your jobs is this:

I'm glad I decided to pursue what I wanted to do.

 

[swordpath]

I've never had, nor will ever have the focus of my career to be for the sole purpose of money. I want to enjoy what I do. As long as I can get by comfortably, financially speaking, then I'm good.

 

[Bamboo]

This is fun listening, if nothing else:

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/423/the-invention-of-money

(click play episode on the page)

The story about Brazil is wonderful.


Money allows me to exchange labor for things I want. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, really, but everyone else believes in it, so it's easier than barter.

 

[Randomnity]

There's always welfare....or being homeless.

 

[rav3n]

There's always welfare....or being homeless.

I've turbo-charged my shopping cart and use durable vinyl garbage bags. 'Tis the life!

 

[Rail Tracer]

are we meant to work?

How else do we get food and shelter like humans have done so for the past thousands and thousands of years... if a bit differently.

 

[FDG]

I'm not sure. Right now, I'm self-employed, and I don't feel dreadful when I think about work, mostly because I can set my own schedule and I don't have to play political games in order to get things done. All that matters is my performance / quality of work. On the other hand, it's obviously not as financially stable, so I need to save a relatively big cushion of money; moreoever, sometimes clients might pay you after 50, 60 days...
Anyway, I did feel somewhat dreadful when I had to work in a more scheduled fashion, especially because I'm very much a morning-day person, thus working from 9 to 5 didn't leave me much time to go out during the day, especially in wintertime. Now I actually work more hours per week (since I also work during the weekends, if I'm not travelling and-or doing something special), yet I can start at say 6:30 AM, go on until 1 PM, go out and exercise / read / whatever, then get back to working at 4 PM.

 

[skylights]

^ that sounds pretty excellent. i'm a day person too, hate being trapped inside during all that sunshine.

i'm unemployed and a student atm. and i have to say, being employed sucks, but i think being unemployed sucks worse. i've built up enough savings that i don't have to work right now, but i do feel pretty useless. at least work is moderately entertaining most of the time (though i did have one soul-sucking job that was much worse than being unemployed).

 

[Oeufa]

You can live without money, but you still have to work. Nothing in life is free, and the trade off for modern living is that you must work for it. You could live off the land, but that requires work. You could generate your own energy but that also requires work. By working for society in exchange for money, you have these things provided for you, at a cost. Only you can decide if the trade off is worth it.

Look at humans societal evolution: we went from being hunter gatherers, to people who stayed in one spot and farmed, to people who introduced precious metals (the first money) to the barter system. Once that took hold, we weren't all required to work for our own food anymore - we could exchange goods and services for those we needed. That is still the basic system in place today. Humans have always worked in some sense for their requirements, as do all creatures. Nothing in life is free.

 

[Amethyst]

Work sucks, if it invades on my basic living needs such as sleep, and eating, or if I develop irreversible health problems from it.


Other than that, I can't say it's all too bad. I just know I wouldn't be a very good coal-miner, or be able to go back to my old job. Also consider that it's not very good for other people who do it either, but the job still needs to be done, so someone's gotta do it. And a lot of people do jobs like that.