A slow Friday afternoon at the office. (... and the pursuit of happiness.) > Jed sez: >> OrionWorks sez:
>>While predicted futuristic life styles of leisure might sound >>idyllic there is a deadly side to this equation which must be >>avoided at all costs, particularly the creation of a welfare state >>where all of our basic needs are automatically provided no matter >>what we indulge in - or not indulge in as the case may be. >It does not seem deadly to me. I have never understood this attitude. >I think it is rather typical of Americans to fear leisure, and loath >contemplation. Perhaps I should rephrase the above just a tad: I fear boredom. Indeed there is absolutely nothing wrong with contemplation. Some of our best spiritual teachers and masters have patiently tried to suggest the benefits of contemplation, meditation, and occasionally, not thinking about anything. It can be very beneficial - and expAnsive. >>As we take advantage of what technology offers so will the choices >>to pursue our unique flavor of "personal happiness" multiply. I'm >>sure discussions concerning the >>"pursuit of happiness" are likely to be contentious as there will be >>differing opinions on what will be allowed and not allowed within society. >Why should anyone argue about this?!? It is a free country. People >have always been allowed to do whatever they want, as long as it is >legal and hurts no one else. No it's NOT a free country for many in our society. And what do you mean by Legal???? Define legal. Tell that to gay couples who simply wish to get married so that the can enjoy the same amenities normal -straight- folk have - like health insurance. Tell that to a financially strapped young unwed expectant mother-to-be who may soon have no control over the choices she would like to make about what is happening within her body. It may feel like a "free country" to many in America. Indeed it IS a free country, comparatively speaking when compared to other societies. Nevertheless, I'm concerned that our lists of freedoms are slowly being eroded by a conservatively backed religiously up-tight administration that believes they know what is absolutely right and what is absolutely wrong for the people they were unfortunately elected to serve. >>Complicating matters, while in the midst of our debates concerning >>the pursuits of our "personal happiness" society begins to suspect >>that deep down they are essentially nothing more than drones in the >>bee hive there will be little motivation for many to self-improve. >>If that becomes the general consensus our civilization will end up moribund. >Most people have always felt powerless. Just about everyone feels >frustrated, and that he is not allowed to contribute much to society. >Many, if not most people feel that they are stuck in a dead-end job >and forced to work for a pittance. Although this frustration is >widespread, it has not squelched our ambition or made society moribund. We are playing with semantics and word-play here. I'm sure you are well aware of the serenity prayer. ...grant me serenity over the things I can not change (aka: control.) Hell, in that context, indeed, we would all do better if we could admit to ourselve how powerless we are - and ironically the power that serenity gives us once we recognize our own powerlesness. >>OTOH, not working, feeling like I have no purpose, feeling like I'm >>not making any valuable contributions to the world I was born into >>is a far worse prison sentence than being force to punch the time >>clock five times a week. >If you won $100 million in the lottery I expect you would soon find >your own purposes. You would live a fulfilling life even if you did >not punch the clock or do what people normally regard as work. Indeed, faced with that dilemma it would be imperative that I DO find my own "purposes." :-) However, it is a grave mistake to believe that winning a 100 million will make one happy. Quite often the exact opposite results as one's "friends" begin hitting you up for loans and other amenities. >In "Profiles of the Future," chapter 13, Arthur C. Clarke wrote: >"It is certainly fortunate that the replicator, if it can ever be >built at all, lies far in the future, at the end of many social >revolutions. Confronted by it, our own culture would collapse >speedily into sybaritic hedonism, followed immediately by the boredom >of absolute satiety. Some cynics may doubt if any society of human >beings could adjust itself to unlimited abundance and the lifting of >the curse of Adam -- a curse which may be a blessing in disguise. > >Yet in every age, a few men have known such freedom, and not all of >them have been corrupted by it. Indeed, I would define a civilized >man as one who can be happily occupied for a lifetime even if he has >no need to work for a living. This means that the greatest problem of >the future is civilizing the human race; but we know that already." > > >>I remain absolutely convinced that if we are to survive we MUST >>continue pursuing real challenges in our lives, not just ritualistic >>and/or cooked-up challenges. There MUST always be obstacles to overcome. > >We have a superabundance of challenges at present. Perhaps our great >grandchildren will suffer from a deficit of life-threatening >problems. Let them worry about that. It is sufficient unto the day >for us to deal with our own problems. Amen to that! > >- Jed Regards, Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com
