by lawnchair » Thu 24 Jan 2008, 14:30:12
My ambition is to spend as little time as possible working. I could move somewhere "cooler" than Kansas. I could eat out and eat something fancier than rice and lentils. I could drive more miles than I do. I could wear something that wasn't from Goodwill. I could throw my clothes in a dryer rather than spend time hanging them on a line. But, that half-hour at the clothesline is *mine*, and it's mine in the sun, in nature. That dollar to run the dryer a few times is "the man's". Gardening is no profit either, but is at least my time is mine.
What I was given was 684,000 hours in my life (if I'm lucky). I'm not going to spend those going to meetings if I can avoid it. Too much swimming and multi-day bike touring I could be doing instead.
Moreover, the less I make and the less I spend, the less the government taxes me to do things I disapprove of. That is the philosophy of the Amish around here who technically make very little money (partially because they barter). I still pay some taxes, but not much.
Beyond that, my ambition is to help people when I can. Milk a neighbor's cow, fix a bike and pass it along, host a web page for the square dance association, do a little open-source programming, volunteer for emergency preparedness.
I am fed, warm, and have friends. I am freer than most people in history. I want for nothing more. The internet is a nice additional diversion.