I finished Not Fade Away while I was in Taiwan. There are some great excerpts from the book that stuck with me. One in particular is “A problem that can be fixd by money… is not a problem.” Although the quote is used to relate to the importance of one’s health, I think that it also relates to many of the world’s problems. Many are of the view that money will solve problems such as African debt, malaria, global warming, etc. but without systemic changes in attitude and behavior, the problems will eventually return (I guess money = time in this equation). I have a lot of friends that have great plans that they are working towards, but just lack the funding…. And fall into dispair when things don’t work out (despite the best intentions). When it comes to finances, it seems that a lot of times there is a fear of lacking or a fear of loss. Many seemingly “problems” that we carry around in our minds are self inflicted. I’ve found it always good to raise inner awareness when such problems arise, separate the thoughts that triggered the feelings and to examine the feelings.
Another one excerpt from the book is “… I love to work. As long, that is, as work was fun; as long as it had some content I enjoyed, rather than being just a grudging exchange of time for money. I realized something basic then. If you work for fun, money will come. If you set out working for money alone, enjoyment is not likely to be part of the equation. If excitement isn’t there at the start, why imagine it will come along later? A dreary job can only get drearier.” Many today work at jobs that they do not enjoy, but do so because of the “security” that the job provides or the image that they find so important to maintain.
My recent trip to Vietnam took me to a large factory (10,000 people) working on making small toys. I was humbled watching the workers toil away at repetitive work for less than 100 USD/month (10,000 people organized around making trinkets that lure kids into a life of fast food). Yet, they had the presence to flash a warm smile when we made eye contact. It doesn't take much to keep us alive. So many of us living in the first world are so fortunate, yet we don’t seem to realize how fortunate we are.
1 comment:
it's definitely true that problems which can be solved by money are't problems at all. i've tons of these so i know. interestingly, i don't think work would be fun, to me, there is no such possibility. if it is work, it got to be something bad. =)
i really envy that you have the intellectual ability (and time also) to read fabulous books. for me, i just "waste" my time in my not-so-funny job. oops.... this is life to me.
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