Making a living. What does that mean ? Making money ? That is certainly the connotation isn't it ? Making the money to keep us alive. Then you must define living. That definition has changed over the years, that much is certain. Even from the time of my youth to today I can see that. Now living, is more about " entertainment " than it is about anything else. I will try to explain what I'm thinking.
Maybe it began with the introduction of the assembly line, maybe it came about as the result of unions being formed, I'm not certain. What I do know is that " making a living " used to be, living. That is to say the things we did to make money were also our lives. Now, the opposite is true, in fact we are told to " get a life " if we devote too much of our time to work. Why is that ? I believe it is because the vast majority of us work for someone else, for the money, and not for " living. " Our entertainment has become associated with our " quality of life. " Now that is a term I really do not like, quality of life. Marcus Aurelius said, " the happiness of your life is dependant upon the quality of your thoughts. " I couldn't agree more with that statement. Happiness is possible without possessions. There is the nagging problem of money though. Money allows us to purchase products, some necessary for the sustaining of life, but money can't buy you love. Didn't one of the Beatles say that ? What I'm driving at is it used to be that whatever we did for a living was also our life. We were identified by our occupations. Family names reflect that simple truth, Miller for example. Then, at some point, we started working for the man ! We started selling our " living " in exchange for cash. Then we started identifying our value with the amount of " entertainment " we could afford. We even labeled it " discretionary income. " That money we can spend for " entertainment " to convince ourselves of our success. We are trying to buy back " living. " So what is living ? Living is a personal thing. Living is that feeling that you are making a positive contribution to society and as a consequence you feel productive. You are " happy. " Happiness is dependant upon the quality of your thoughts just as Marcus said. When your thoughts are focused upon your life, not just " making a living " happiness will be the result. Can it be achieved by working for someone else ? Certainly it can if that occupation is also your passion. That is the real problem though, that combination is a rare thing. I believe that is especially so with the white collar crowd. I mean, how many of us at say 22 know what out life's' passion will be ? We choose a major in college and obtain our degrees. That is now the occupation we can make the most money in. Wasn't that the intent ? Didn't that influence your decision ? But, what if we later decide that wasn't such a great choice ? Not using that degree, that cost you a ton of money and energy to obtain, just doesn't seem like a reasonable choice. you are somewhat stuck. Oh, the same happens with the common laborer, just because Dad loved to fish that doesn't mean I will. Each want one thing, to live the life they want to live. To live a life that is satisfying and productive. Just producing " entertainment " will not accomplish that. And by entertainment I mean that discretionary spending.
So, we are now working to " make a living " which means making money. The hope being to make enough money to have entertainment, discretionary spending. With that discretion we attempt to purchase a " life. " Is that living ? Depends upon the definition doesn't it ? If you are " working " for yourself it does, but not if you are doing it for someone else. And that is only because our " success " is being measured by that discretionary spending. How much money we make. Can you be poor and successful ? Not for long you can't. Success brings money ! Isn't that right ? But is money, success ?
Maybe it began with the introduction of the assembly line, maybe it came about as the result of unions being formed, I'm not certain. What I do know is that " making a living " used to be, living. That is to say the things we did to make money were also our lives. Now, the opposite is true, in fact we are told to " get a life " if we devote too much of our time to work. Why is that ? I believe it is because the vast majority of us work for someone else, for the money, and not for " living. " Our entertainment has become associated with our " quality of life. " Now that is a term I really do not like, quality of life. Marcus Aurelius said, " the happiness of your life is dependant upon the quality of your thoughts. " I couldn't agree more with that statement. Happiness is possible without possessions. There is the nagging problem of money though. Money allows us to purchase products, some necessary for the sustaining of life, but money can't buy you love. Didn't one of the Beatles say that ? What I'm driving at is it used to be that whatever we did for a living was also our life. We were identified by our occupations. Family names reflect that simple truth, Miller for example. Then, at some point, we started working for the man ! We started selling our " living " in exchange for cash. Then we started identifying our value with the amount of " entertainment " we could afford. We even labeled it " discretionary income. " That money we can spend for " entertainment " to convince ourselves of our success. We are trying to buy back " living. " So what is living ? Living is a personal thing. Living is that feeling that you are making a positive contribution to society and as a consequence you feel productive. You are " happy. " Happiness is dependant upon the quality of your thoughts just as Marcus said. When your thoughts are focused upon your life, not just " making a living " happiness will be the result. Can it be achieved by working for someone else ? Certainly it can if that occupation is also your passion. That is the real problem though, that combination is a rare thing. I believe that is especially so with the white collar crowd. I mean, how many of us at say 22 know what out life's' passion will be ? We choose a major in college and obtain our degrees. That is now the occupation we can make the most money in. Wasn't that the intent ? Didn't that influence your decision ? But, what if we later decide that wasn't such a great choice ? Not using that degree, that cost you a ton of money and energy to obtain, just doesn't seem like a reasonable choice. you are somewhat stuck. Oh, the same happens with the common laborer, just because Dad loved to fish that doesn't mean I will. Each want one thing, to live the life they want to live. To live a life that is satisfying and productive. Just producing " entertainment " will not accomplish that. And by entertainment I mean that discretionary spending.
So, we are now working to " make a living " which means making money. The hope being to make enough money to have entertainment, discretionary spending. With that discretion we attempt to purchase a " life. " Is that living ? Depends upon the definition doesn't it ? If you are " working " for yourself it does, but not if you are doing it for someone else. And that is only because our " success " is being measured by that discretionary spending. How much money we make. Can you be poor and successful ? Not for long you can't. Success brings money ! Isn't that right ? But is money, success ?
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