Why our dreams crushed

[ZenitYerkes]

I think we all have had a moment in our lives in which what the TV said or what we heard from our parents wasn't something we shrugged our shoulders on; in which we stopped playing for a moment unlike before, when we just didn't care at all. There is a moment in which we take out our heads from our affairs and begin to see around, wondering what's going on here.

Welcome to the adult world.

When we get to know this world, we slowly begin to understand it, at the time we unleash our critical thinking and rebel against anything we feel is wrong or unfair; either by writing long essays on how crooked things need to be straightened, or demonstrating to claim freedoms and rights that have been ours since we were alive, or discussing and sharing with friends ideas for a brave new world. We are enlightened, because we met the darkness. We are free, because we knew our chains.

However, 20 years later you'll find us being part of what we have been complaining about.

And why, if things needed so badly a change we eventually left it aside, and turned our heads back to our stuff? Why did we returned to the shrugging stage and stopped caring on what happened around us, if everything was real important and real bad?

Don't worry, you'll get used to it. We all do.

After being a rebellious teenager and a thoughtful undergraduate, the independence stage comes; and one has to begin to work by and for oneself, to eventually get into the routine of waking up early to go to work to eat to get back to work to get home to watch TV whilst taking a beer to go bed to wake up again to...

It is tedious and nobody likes it; it could have even been one of the things you refused to do in your teens, but eventually got used to. You stop caring about anything else but work and are content with your TV, your beer and your job.

The worse enemy of thinking is a monotonic routine. It's quite difficult to make time to reflect on modern lifestyle when what you must do in order to survive is work 8 hours a day and spend the rest of it sleeping, moving from your house to work, watching the TV or staring at the PC screen. That doesn't leave much time to deep thoughts or writing anything, even demonstrate,...

There is saying though, from Pindar: "Richer is not who has more but needs less". The less you need, the less you will work and the more spare time you'll have.

Instead of working full time on a McDonalds, a office cubicle or the local library to pay a flat, a car,... you could get a part-time job to rent a flat and use public transport or walk instead; and use the rest of the day to do something original. Or join a farm; it's up to you.

There is no alternative.

If you're the kind of free spirits who would like to escape from everything: think of it; where are you going to go? To the forest? There is no piece of land on which you could stay safely since each has an owner that will defend their property. Take a sabbatical year? Sure, there are places you could escape from the routine and work; but afterwards you'll have to go back home. On the road? Good luck finding gas for the motorbike.

There is no alternative to this system set up; and you'll have to work for it if you want to get anything of your own. After all, it is everywhere and controls all the resources available.

However, there are people who have managed to almost escape from all of this and survive by their own resources, since they needed few and few they had to work. There are others who live off scavenging and shoplifting. And others have moved into wild zones after having learned bushcraft and survival skills.

You can't do it on your own.

Our education teaches us to work only on the things we are told to do by a superior (call it teacher, or boss). Perhaps you could do the small tasks your way or spend your spare time in things you yourself like, but in front of a great project of your own, the feeling of powerlessness and laziness is strong; since once you get used to write, type and calculate under the orders of someone hardly will you do anything for yourself.

Though it will take you time -perhaps years- to get used to work for you, it is not impossible to reach this point. It requires constance, patience and dedication on what you do.

It's too dangerous

You will ruin your career, you can't turn back home, you will not be happy... This is one of the major reasons why we leave our dreams and focus on walking down the already-drawn-by-the-rest, boring path.

It is fear -fear of failing, of ending up under a bridge and eaten by the dogs; or in jail, or...

But I'll let the master in risks talk for me:

“Don’t put limitations on yourself. Other people will do that for you. Don’t do that to yourself. Don’t bet against yourself. And take risk.

NASA has this phrase that they like, “Failure is not an option.” But failure has to be an option.

In art and exploration, failure has to be an option. Because it is a leap of faith. And no important endeavour that required innovation was done without risk. You have to be willing to take those risks. […]

In whatever you are doing, failure is an option. But fear is not.”

James Cameron

Whoever wants to make their life *theirs*, will have to face these obstacles and sort them out.

---

On a side note, this is something I've been thinking over during several days and that took me 3 hours to write (intermittently); hence the length.

[ZenitYerkes]

Bump.

Let me guess, you need a TL;DR right? Ah well, it's understandable. Nobody has time to read such long stuff. Not that I blame you, but I'm used to write walls of text out of the nothing.

Perhaps I should write shorter. Maybe.

TL;DR - We all have dreams on how the world should be but as we grow up we realize how "childish" those are; thus we go and live the so called normal lifestyle. It is a way to live your life this place offers you; but it isn't the only one.

You can write your own story too: all you need is to persevere and have a strong willpower. Decide whether you prefer money or spare time. Be your own boss, and don't let anything be an obstacle to you; not even fear.

[stdout]

As far as I can see, the intelligent application of effort can result in you having both money and free time, so I don't think the tradeoff is as clear cut as you make it sound.

[ZenitYerkes]

Originally Posted by stdout

As far as I can see, the intelligent application of effort can result in you having both money and free time, so I don't think the tradeoff is as clear cut as you make it sound.

There you got me.

Of course you can have both; but I was rather referring to the moments afterwards university, when one gets their first jobs and usually has either few money or few spare time. Hence the references to the teens as a previous moment to this.

Anyhow, I agree that it is possible to have both.

[Human No More]

Unfortunately, all completely true... I've been spending so long thinking about my future at the moment, and I ran into all of those... I'm not ready to give up, but I don't know the answer

[Fkeu 'Awpo]

I don't know, I think it's worth it in the long run to pay off a house as quickly as you can - yes, less spare time now, but hey, more spare time later.

IMO, never take risks without a fallback plan. You think Cameron would have created Avatar as his first movie? You think he would help save the environment if he didn't have the money?

We all rise up through the ranks. I doubt Cameron just started directing films out of nowhere.

[Tsyal Makto]

Because those who run the world don't want dreamers, they want ignorant, soul-crushed, obediant workers who have just enough intelligence and mental strength to run the machines. Hell, if it was up to them, they'd rip out all your vital organs and run you on saline like a Combine Stalker. They don't want you to thrive. Period. The only people they want to thrive, to be able to live their dreams, are those in their little wolf-pack.

All these things that we want, all these dreams, means less labor for them, less money to make off of our blood, sweat, and tears, and that's why they crush our dreams. To drag us back down to Earth, and place a machine in front of us, to make money for their little cadre of sociopaths.

[Fighter-of-Wars]

I have thought about this more than once. I can come up with a hundred different solutions, but each step in one of those directions that I want seems like a leap across the Great Canyon while carrying a backpack full of bricks.

The path is clear but its straight up hill and there is so much pulling you back. Your family, your friends, you lifestyle all keep you trudging the same path and longer you walk the path the deeper and deeper it gets in the ravine.

Many times the thought has entered my head of just ending it because the way out is so steep. But, again like other decisions, there is so much holding me back so I try and push that away.

I have had many serious thoughts about what I would do. Go nomad in northern Canada or Alaska. Head down to South America and live in a village somewhere. But I have so much holding me back.. But like I said, the path is clear but it's straight up and I have a load of bricks holding me back.

[Fighter-of-Wars]

Originally Posted by Tsyal Makto

Because those who run the world don't want dreamers, they want ignorant, soul-crushed, obediant workers who have just enough intelligence and mental strength to run the machines. Hell, if it was up to them, they'd rip out all your vital organs and run you on saline like a Combine Stalker.

All these things that we want, all these dreams, means less labor for them, less money to make off of our blood, sweat, and tears, and that's why they crush our dreams. To drag us back down to Earth, and place a machine in front of us, to make money for their little cadre of thieves.

I get this feeling all the time. All we do is work, and pay them to sit on there butt's and tell us what to do.

[ZenitYerkes]

Originally Posted by Fkeu 'Awpo

I don't know, I think it's worth it in the long run to pay off a house as quickly as you can - yes, less spare time now, but hey, more spare time later.

IMO, never take risks without a fallback plan. You think Cameron would have created Avatar as his first movie? You think he would help save the environment if he didn't have the money?

We all rise up through the ranks. I doubt Cameron just started directing films out of nowhere.

If you've seen Gattaca, you will know what I am referring to when I say you won't know how far would things take you if you don't save anything for the swim back. But if it's not your case, I believe sometimes we have to risk everything we have for something we have dreamed reaching.

Cameron himself said on the TED talk that even for the first movies (eg The Abyss, first in which he used submarine filming) he had to take risks to keep going and improving; because there's no other way to go a step further.

Also, I met a supposedly successful businessman who told me he wasn't successful at all and rather had been failing over and over again. Thrice he opened his company and thrice he ran out of business because of familiar issues and errors of himself; he had been offered eight million sterling pounds for it once but he refused to accept it since it was his project.

Finally he managed to open it for the fourth time and succeeded.

So if you're going to risk it all and fall; even if you have a fallback plan what is real important is to stand up back again.

And on the long-term thing: I believe it's better to focus on the present. For example, saving money for a retirement plan is a good idea, but once you are 65 hardly would you live off hot dogs and large trips. Not that I say you shouldn't make anything for when you reach your 70s; but don't make of it the goal of your life. Life is not planned to be lived from the elderliness on.

But money and time are two different things; and unlike the first one, time flees. The moment is now. Saving time for the future means losing it.

But it's your life anyway; and this is just a text you can ignore.

[Fkeu 'Awpo]

Gattaca... sounds familiar... don't recall much... must've sucked. Anyway.

I only risk when I have little or nothing to lose. But that's just me.

What risk did Cameron take trying out submarine filming?

I wouldn't call what that businessman was doing risky. He owned a company. There was obviously little risk and little loss considering how many times he opened and reopened it.

I still don't agree with taking risks. It's like, sure you MIGHT win the lottery, and the payoff is great, but... is it worth it? Skydiving sounds like fun... but what if your parachute doesn't open? Investing in Google seems like a good idea...but what if it hadn't been such a huge success?

But it's your life anyway; and this is just a text you can ignore.

[ZenitYerkes]

Risking when you have few to loss, that's mediocrity.

On Cameron, being a relatively new director in Hollywood and directly asking for a huge budget (submarine filming is not cheap); now THAT's risking. If the movie is a huge fail, goodbye career.

Oh, the businessman did had risks. Most of the money he used to open business was lent, and guess what happens if you can only return few and ask for more for going for your projects yet again.

[Fkeu 'Awpo]

Then I am mediocre.

All directors do that every time they make a movie. Few movies flop so horribly that they don't at least make budget.

Then the businessman is not risky, he's just stupid. Who makes the same mistake more than once, hell, more than twice? And he had to pay the loan off each time, which means he certainly had enough money every time his business went under. Unless he kept on taking loans from different people or something, in which case -> stupid.

[ZenitYerkes]

Originally Posted by Fkeu 'Awpo

Then the businessman is not risky, he's just stupid. Who makes the same mistake more than once, hell, more than twice? And he had to pay the loan off each time, which means he certainly had enough money every time his business went under. Unless he kept on taking loans from different people or something, in which case -> stupid.

It's not stupidity, it's fighting for what one loves and believes in; over and over again.

Anyhow, why are you interested in debating the life of a businessman? One doesn't need to be someone specially clever to understand what I try to say with that example -which, after all, is just that: an example.

[Fkeu 'Awpo]

I'm not, nor am I entirely convinced this businessman actually exists.

But anyway, risks are not for me.

Off I go. /o/