Thought for the day

[cmdr_zoom]

If I work diligently to extract myself from all duties and responsibilities - leaving only what is necessary for bare survival - then no one will criticize me for things undone or done improperly. No achievement, but also no failure, no guilt, no disapproval. A placid, self-indulgent life: "an it harm none."

What do you think?

Comments

[ardaniel]

I think you'd be shit-all bored. ;)

[cmdr-zoom.livejournal.com]

Not so. I have plenty of solitary and semi-solitary amusements that do not involve incurring obligations or responsibilities. Looking around my room right now, I see literally more games than I have time to play.

Civilization in all its incarnations, console RPGs, USEnet news and the web - all are renowned as nigh-infinite time sinks.

Boredom is not the issue.

[ardaniel]

Ah, but by refusing to involve yourself beyond what you absolutely need to survive, you take away interaction with others.

Usenet really isn't a single-user system. Neither is IRC.

And, well, no one *needs* the Internet to survive, so you might as well toss the broadband too. ;)

More seriously, it's the way people operate. Taking on obligation, fulfilling it, moving on. If you choose not to operate like that, you're going to find it pretty unfulfilling, sitting there playing Civ all the time.

[wedgex.livejournal.com]

"So you decided to be a bum?"

"I'll just be Jules, Vincent -- no more, no less."

"No Jules, you're gonna be like those pieces of shit out there who beg for change. They walk around like a bunch of fuckin' zombies, they sleep in garbage bins, they eat what I throw away, and dogs piss on 'em. They got a word for 'em, they're called bums. And without a job, residence, or legal tender, that's what you're gonna be -- a fuckin' bum!"

:)

[cmdr-zoom.livejournal.com]

So maybe my definition of "bare survival" is a little more cushy than some. :) I'm not talking about quitting my job - though that is, I suppose, the proximate cause of this train of thought. Rather, the optional stuff, like the squadron. Minimizing the sources of guilt in my life and reasons for people to be unhappy with me.

Maybe I should give up on this whole thing for now and just take a nap.

[ardaniel]

Minimizing the sources of guilt in my life and reasons for people to be unhappy with me.

Put that way, I'll see Chad's Tarantino Travolta and raise him a John Woo Travolta:

"Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke."

[gwyd.livejournal.com]

It's not the end of the world. Everybody has weeks like that at work. (I do). You need to roll with criticism. Fix what they want fixed, but don't let it get to your self estime. It's just a job. (Yes, I'm reading posts backwards again, so I'm responding to your later post as much as this one.)