CONTEMPLATIVE LIFESTYLE

[Anonymous No.11300528]

How do I keep a contemplative lifestyle in a (post)industrial society in which you have to work 6+ hours/day in a soul draining job while being paid miserably?

I find myself in bliss during the weekends when I can finally retire myself in my apartment and read the classics and go to classical music concerts in the evening.

Life seems to have been simpler in the past.

I'm really concerned about this.

Unironically.

[Anonymous No.11300814]

bump................................

[Anonymous No.11300856]

>>11300528
nice lemon keyface there, grug.

[Anonymous No.11300859]

>>11300528
>I'm really concerned about this.
Same here anon. I'm a university student right now but I'm seriously concerned about the sort of life that may be ahead of me if I just stay in line. I don't want to waste it by sitting in an office all day for the rest of my adult life while time to read the classics and experience great things gradually decreases, until I become an old man with little time to do any of that.

Just to avoid a long-term slave lifestyle itself, I'm thinking about buying an RV in the future and just living in there, traveling the country and what not.

[Anonymous No.11300863]

minimalism?
quite ez
two room apartment (one room flooded with books) no computer, no smartphone

[Anonymous No.11300864]

>>11300528
https://aeon.co/essays/take-your-time-the-seven-pillars-of-a-slow-thought-manifesto

[Anonymous No.11300867]

>>11300528
>Life seems to have been simpler in the past.
It wasn't, man. Go far enough back and it wasn't even possible to have the idle time necessary for contemplation. You were constantly on the run from some wild beast or scavenging and killing to survive another day.

Fire is the key to it all. The best inspiration comes in the heat of the moment when we throw ourselves into the flames of war.

[Anonymous No.11300898]

>>11300528
Wtf, you apparently have 6 hours a day to be contemplative at your "soul draining" job. If your job is so boring, go on autopilot and tune out, and tune into your own daydreaming or thought-processing mechanisms and explore yourself. Or do you need other people to contemplate for you, hence why your immediate go-to of "contemplating" (an active activity) is digesting someone else's thoughts (a passive activity)?

[Anonymous No.11300899]

>>11300867
>on the run from some wild beast or scavenging and killing to survive another day

Not that distant in the past, anon.

[Anonymous No.11300903]

>>11300898
>If your job is so boring, go on autopilot and tune out
and then be fired within a week

[Anonymous No.11300913]

>>11300903
Imagine being so shit at your braindead job that you can't do it without thinking about doing it. You're literally an invalid if this is you.

[Anonymous No.11300927]

>>11300913
>Imagine being so shit
>literally an invalid
>literally

Thanks for the amazing contribution to the thread, anon. I'll keep your advice in mind!

[Anonymous No.11300967]

>>11300528
Four day week, if you can swing it. Downside - lack of money gets in the way of some social stuff/costly hobbies. Upside, that extra day is goddamn massive.

[Anonymous No.11301103]

>>11300528
Become a NEET. If you live in a shithole where it isn't possible, move.

[Anonymous No.11301161]

>>11301103
I've considered moving so many times. But moving means having to work in a shitty job for a while to survive.

[Anonymous No.11301199]

>>11300528
If you have to work you are a pleb. That is the definition of the word.

The people you envy, that lived contemplative lives, did not have to work, they lived off of inherited wealth.

[Anonymous No.11301241]

>>11301199
Yeah. Say that to Michael Faraday, Mendel, Abraham Lincoln, Joseph Swan, Tesla and fucking Steve Jobs. Fuck you.

[Anonymous No.11301268]

>>11301199
the Roman patricians were a nobility, it was about ancestry

[Anonymous No.11301283]

>>11300528
Slowly get a service related job in tech/digital, which you can eventually turn into a freelance gig, where you can make almos the same money for less than half the hours

[Anonymous No.11301315]

>>11300528
>Life seems to have been simpler in the past
You also had to work 8+ (I don't know where you're getting 6 from) hours in the past. Depending on how far into the past we're talking even much, much longer.

[Anonymous No.11301318]

>>11301199
That or they got other people to pay for their contemplative lifestyles. I genuinely think the arts were better when artists had patrons.

[Anonymous No.11301355]

If you cuck your conscious energy to focusing on financial matters you're never going to create a space to be a contemplative OP, even if the opportunity is staring at you right in the face.

You're going to have to take risks and get yourself into a position where you earn more money and have a smaller workload If you're working 6+ hours a day for shit pay, then you really have no choice but to do this.

The only other alternative is to get prissy and lament your shit life, whilst doing nothing proactive to change your situation. It is an option, and one many people chose, but you're going to have to decide whether it's the one you want to take.

[Anonymous No.11301361]

>>11301355
>workload. If**

[Anonymous No.11301370]

>>11300528
This is why I like low a responsibility manual labor.
The body can go on automatic and the mind let free.
Even working 10 hours a day at a factory in the mid 2000s, I never felt that I couldn't pursue intellectual and artistic activities.

[Anonymous No.11301372]

>>11300528
>6+ hours/day
Which is not a whole hell of a lot
>in a soul draining job
If you're a whiny little bitch
>while being paid miserably?
This is nobody's fault but your own, in a competitive market it is your obligation to further your own pay and to not live beyond your means.

Stop being such a faggot, you're not a malnourished 13 year old working 12 hour shifts in a coal mine. Get the fuck over yourself.

[Anonymous No.11301376]

>>11301370
>tfw you realize that the change in America from a manufacturing society to a service society directly correlates to the downfall of American art

[Anonymous No.11301381]

>>11301370
>Even working 10 hours a day at a factory in the mid 2000s, I never felt that I couldn't pursue intellectual and artistic activities.
Tell me more about it.

>>11301372
>If you're a whiny little bitch
I am a whiny little bitch. Not voluntarily though.

[Anonymous No.11301385]

>>11301199
This is true for most philosophers.

[Anonymous No.11301809]

>>11301370
There may be something to this. I worked as a cart attendant at Target for a few years, and being outside a lot keeps you from interacting with most customers, which gives you plenty of time to think whether you like it or not.

[Anonymous No.11301821]

>>11301381
>literally "WAAAH ITS NOT MY FAULT": the post
I'm not kidding when I say suicide is your only option

[Anonymous No.11301857]

>>11301809
It's also the not-being-in-charge of it, and the actual physical action of the work: as long as the carts are where they need to be, you are doing a good job. There's no politics.
Office Politics is why Office Work is terrible. Your job is totally abstract and is verified by the opinions of efficiency men who constantly move the goalpost.
You can never really do a good job at an office because your whole job is about managing how your coworkers perceive you.

[Anonymous No.11301858]

get a job at a small movie theater. pretty much everything is automated and there is almost no interaction with people, plus you get to see movies for free. i read 100 pages a day almost every time i worked, but then the theater closed. shit pay but best job i ever had

[Anonymous No.11301898]

>>11300528
Make books and music your only entertainment. Stop using the Internet, smart phones, and watching tv. Save up to buy an instrument and start taking lessons. Or take art classes and learn to paint.

[Anonymous No.11302133]

>>11301821
Literally just read the post again; how many times have you considered suicide yourself? You sound rather bitter. Poor thing.

[Anonymous No.11302143]

>>11301857
OP here. This post somehow changed my perception of having what a "decent" job might be. Which is fucked up since I'm in the law school, graduating next year.

[Anonymous No.11302173]

There was some american writer who worked at the night shift at a hotel as a watchman and said that was the ideal job for someone who wanted to read or something like that. I might be wrong tho

[Anonymous No.11302177]

>>11302143
So work in Legal Aid. That's about actually doing necessary work in your field outside of the political game of status-obsessed Firms.

[Anonymous No.11302210]

>>11302173
It really is.
When I was 18-22 I worked in a big state mental hospital at night shift.
I did rounds and some cleaning but otherwise the entire job was just being awake and sitting quietly.
I read two books a night every night at that job.

I don't suggest it however due to how much brutality you have to silently witness in mental hospitals though.

Security at a business at night however would be ideal.

[Anonymous No.11302234]

>>11302177
>status-obsessed Firms
exactly what makes me fucking mad about Law. Every single motherfucker in my University, when begins to wear suits, becomes obnoxious as fuck, as if they were something. Not to be amazed that lawyers are among the most likely groups to commit suicide, so easy to go crazy when everything there is in front of you is appeal to power. I'm probably not making sense anymore but anyway

[Anonymous No.11302250]

>>11302234
I keep telling people this, and its got to be annoying, but read this book, it's short and edifying:

http://libgen.io/book/index.php?md5=20E02C92504157D1D0EABD5208C77C32

[Anonymous No.11302262]

>>11302250
I'll give it a try, thanks anon.

[Anonymous No.11302264]

>>11302234
>>11302250

Here is the ToC for an appetizer

[Anonymous No.11302346]

>>11300528
Oh hey I can kind of sort of maybe possibly help here! Cool. So if you don't mind working really, really, really hard for a few years you could very reasonably set up a pseudo-homesteading operation.

Your biggest barrier, other than time, are building codes. Some people get around this with tiny houses, but if you're really going all in I'd recommend trying to find cheap, alternative building sources. I'd recommend cordwood or earthbags, I chose the latter.

So from there you'll want a garden. About an acre's worth, and some chickens. You should aim for something very space and resource efficient like vertical or square foot gardening. You could dip your toes into aquaponics, but I'm personally nowhere near smart enough for that.

Lean towards perennials. Avoid growing whatever's cheap since you're trying to maximize savings. Compost bins are also very useful.

Other than that, choose purchases carefully. Clothes, cars, etc. Pay more now, save more later. This pays out best in the longterm. From there you can pick whatever shitty manual labor job you want and break even from there.

I had to choose this lifestyle because of fetal alcohol syndrome, but I think it's a good fit for pretty much everyone. I work less, sleep more, eat better, and generally just feel pretty good. Lots of time to read and doze off on a hammock.

If you have any questions let me know! I don't get to talk about this often.

[Anonymous No.11302488]

>>11301372
t. classcucked letzter Mensch. You too will get the bullet, buddy.

[Anonymous No.11304006]

Visit /biz/ and try to escape wageslavery. Crypto is unironically the one life time chance to become wealthy in a short amount of time. But even if crypto doesn't work out, you might get valuable knowledge about finance and investing. Read books and guides about early retirement or other ways to make money apart from wagecucking. Even if you just want to live a simple life without many material possessions, you need to become wealthy enough (minimum $500k) to not work again.

[Anonymous No.11304020]

>>11302346
not op, but this is very interesting
can you tell us more about yourself, where you live, what you grow, etxc

[Anonymous No.11304051]

>>11300913
He probably doesn't work at burger king anon

[Anonymous No.11304062]

eat
eat enjoyably
your body doesnt create energy ex nihilo
the brain is an especially energy intensive organ

for some stress is an intellectual catalyst, but i think it probably encourages retreat into time-wasting activities and mentally masturbatory and apathetic diversions.

[Anonymous No.11304387]

>>11302210
>brutality you have to silently witness
tell me more

[Anonymous No.11304466]

>>11301857
This is correct from my experience as well. It is a soulless place.

[Anonymous No.11304473]

>>11304062
This hits surprisingly close to home. Thanks for the thought anon

[Anonymous No.11304668]

>>11300528
I share the same concern. Working part time in the service industry (waiter/barman) not only is it physically tiring, but also emotionally and intellectually, as I am forced to smile and 'connect' with customers.

Thank god majority are decent people and the fact that tipping culture is nonexistent.

[Anonymous No.11304826]

>>11300863
Where do I put my seven kids ?

[Anonymous No.11304906]

>>11302173
Sadler also worked security for a time, I think that's one of the reasons I actually picked up security when I was a sophomore. I worked the weekend shift for almost 3 years, some of my best reading happened cooped up in that little guard shack, the sun beginning to rise, quiet dawn, etc. idk, it feels weird knowing that the weekends of my youth were spent alone in a guard shack. I quit after I graduated a month ago

[Anonymous No.11305182]

bump for I also want to have a contemplative lifestyle and be millionaire at the same time

[Anonymous No.11305199]

>>11302346
OP here. I have so many questions to ask; it's seems like you've reached the level where all of us want to be. I'd love to hear more from you.

[Anonymous No.11305229]

>>11300528
Contemplative life is the best life.

[Anonymous No.11305259]

>>11300528
With a lot of hard work and dedication. Try to stay physically fit, foremost.

[Anonymous No.11305277]

>>11300859
>concerned about the sort of life that may be ahead of me if I just stay in line. I don't want to waste it by sitting in an office all day for the rest of my adult life while time to read the classics and experience great things gradually decreases, until I become an old man with little time to do any of that.

Speaking as a 33 year old piece of shit, the office life is better. Stick with that.

>>11300967
>Four day week

Yea, I work 4 shifts a week in restaurants because it affords me the most time to write. It's a miserable existence--my girlfriend is probably going to leave me--but I am able to find time to write, and I get to be outside when it's sunny quite often.

I'm looking for an office job. 9-5. Dress shirts, but I don't actually want one, so, maybe ignore my advice.

[Anonymous No.11305288]

>>11302143
>law school

Stick with it and you can make money. Everyone I know who's a lawyer likes it enough.

(I dropped out in my last semester.)

[Anonymous No.11305307]

>>11305288
I'm having a miserable time in law school. I'm at this very moment studying for my civil law exam and feeling existential pain.

[Anonymous No.11305306]

>>11305259
Goly gee, Joe...

[Anonymous No.11305315]

>>11305277

[Anonymous No.11305404]

>>11305307
>miserable time in law school

It's a slog, especially by the third year, but just do half your best to pass the classes, masturbate to the attractive people, and it'll be worth it in the end.

>>11305315

Thanks, anon.

[Anonymous No.11305437]

>>11302346
COME BACK I'd like to hear more from you as well you lucky motherfucker

[Anonymous No.11305472]

you need to read my book

[Anonymous No.11305872]

>>11305437
>>11305199
>>11302346

May I suggest the book Self-Sufficient Country Living by DS Savage.

[Anonymous No.11307687]

>>11300528
>this gay apeposting meme is here too
Please stay in /sci/, please

[Anonymous No.11307917]

>>11300903
then it's not a braindead job silly

[Anonymous No.11307948]

>>11300528
Look at this fucking normie complaining about his 'hard' life while i can't even experience momentary escape from the hell of living with treatment resistant schizophrenia.
sincerely fuck yourself op

[Anonymous No.11307956]

>>11307948
just be yourself

[Anonymous No.11307977]

>>11304020
Absolutely!

I'm not super sure what would be interesting to hear about me-wise. I grew up struggling with intellectual disabilities with well-intentioned hard working parents, gradually grew into agoraphobia, and basically decided to either find a way out or kill myself. I wanted to survive more than I wanted to die, so I wound up here.

I'm out in NC, somewhere mountainesque. I was originally going to move somewhere in the PNW, but I wanted to be close to my family.

At this point I'm all across the board. Broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, spinach, etc. I don't grow any legumes or beans or whatever since they're cheap and barely differ taste-wise.

I keep bees and chickens. Chickens for eggs and companionship, bees for pollination and honey. My girls are getting older and I'm dreading having to slaughter them. Their names are Sophia, Wednesday, Calliope, and Borges because she's blind as fuck.

>>11305199
>>11305437
Yeah absolutely. I'm just not super sure what info's relevant to you.

>>11305872
This is a good rec. I'd also like to throw out The Back Yard Homestead, All-New Square Foot Gardening, and The Encyclopedia of Country Living

Anyhoo, I'll be around! I'll check in later tomorrow.

[Anonymous No.11308394]

>>11307977
>I keep bees and chickens
Is that how you earn money? If not, how do you make your living?

[Anonymous No.11308406]

>>11304051
Burger king would actually require alertness. Every order is dynamic, there's no going on autopilot unless you're the actual burger flipper. Personally I work in a grocery store and it exactly fulfills the bill that I outlined. Pays handsomely too

[Anonymous No.11308948]

>>11307977
How's life overall? So many things to ask, I don't know where I should start. Do you live in the countryside? How was it for you to adapt?

[Anonymous No.11308952]

>>11300528
>6+ hours/day
Wow, don't hurt yourself lole

[Anonymous No.11308980]

What does any of this have to do with literature? When did this board become the /r9k/ whine-olympics? Who makes posts like this, where you come onto the form people use to discuss books and complain that you can't read after doing 6 measly hours of labor? Why are there so many responses to this garbage? How did it come to this?

[Anonymous No.11309034]

>>11304826
In the ground.