Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm content living in a small house and last time I had a vacation was almost 10 years ago. I went to Germany and Switzerland to visit my family.
I love nature and "vacation" daily in the forest/at the ocean. I walk, sit on the bench and listen to the silence. I don't care about what other people have. I never cared. I mind my own business.
I keep it simple, I read, knit, love my family and friends. My cat. I meditate.
Sounds like a good life/mindset. Wish they had pills to give it to all of us.
The reason for the faster pace is that most people Gen X and later subscribe to the 'time spent not doing anything useful is time wasted' theory. Or the 'each hour you get is like a sand in a running hourglass'.
Therefore, people are trying to make as much money as they can for the least amount of hours they can work. So, they can spend the time outside of work ... travelling and doing interesting things, or trying to improve their lives, or ... if they have kids, spending time with their kids.
I can tell you that my parents thought differently. They were more goal oriented. That goal being ... have kids and buy a decent home, and live in that home, and save for retirement, and ... well that's about it.
They expected to work as many hours as they needed to work, and free time consisted of doing family stuff and church, and ... well that's about it.
The reason for the faster pace is that most people Gen X and later subscribe to the 'time spent not doing anything useful is time wasted' theory. Or the 'each hour you get is like a sand in a running hourglass'.
Therefore, people are trying to make as much money as they can for the least amount of hours they can work. So, they can spend the time outside of work ... travelling and doing interesting things, or trying to improve their lives, or ... if they have kids, spending time with their kids.
I can tell you that my parents thought differently. They were more goal oriented. That goal being ... have kids and buy a decent home, and live in that home, and save for retirement, and ... well that's about it.
They expected to work as many hours as they needed to work, and free time consisted of doing family stuff and church, and ... well that's about it.
This leads to panic, fear, anxiety and finally... depression. I used to subscribe to this thinking, and still struggle with it from time to time.
I don't know that people are more depressed now than 500 years ago. It's possible we're less depressed, actually. People just think that's a "condition" now, maybe, whereas it was just considered the grind of life getting to us...which may have been considered normal. Also, we have more time to sit around and think about our lives, our goals, etc., and get depressed about it. Depression that's caused by chemical imbalance no doubt existed in the old days.
This. 500 years ago nobody was going around asking people how they feel and how they rated their happiness. Nobody wanted to hear about it. Nobody cared. You just had to deal with it. And you dealt with it by shutting up and doing your chores. No running off to therapy.
This. 500 years ago nobody was going around asking people how they feel and how they rated their happiness. Nobody wanted to hear about it. Nobody cared. You just had to deal with it. And you dealt with it by shutting up and doing your chores. No running off to therapy.
Back when men beat their wives, fondled women against their wills, drank themselves to death, and neglected their children. Yep, the good ol' days.
I think the word you're looking for is 'repressed'.
This. 500 years ago nobody was going around asking people how they feel and how they rated their happiness. Nobody wanted to hear about it. Nobody cared. You just had to deal with it. And you dealt with it by shutting up and doing your chores. No running off to therapy.
Which civilization(s) are you thinking of?
Ancient Egyptians fully embraced the concept of mental health.
Faster than who? If you mean olden times, it's because of the advances that allow us to spend less time for subsistence tasks (like hunting & gathering & growing food and clothing). In olden times, a group of men would spend all day hunting for supper, and women in some countries even today spend hours grinding grain to make flour to use for meals, etc. They had to make their clothes, starting with prepping the hides of the animals they'd killed to eat. They worked more hours, possibly, but on fewer tasks. Now, we stop at the store for food & clothing, and have hours to spend on other tasks that push us forward as the human race. Time for engineering, architecture, space travel, knowledge and education, higher level thinking, cleaning, etc.
I don't know that people are more depressed now than 500 years ago. It's possible we're less depressed, actually. People just think that's a "condition" now, maybe, whereas it was just considered the grind of life getting to us...which may have been considered normal. Also, we have more time to sit around and think about our lives, our goals, etc., and get depressed about it. Depression that's caused by chemical imbalance no doubt existed in the old days.
Also, we're more isolated, now, which can lead to depression. In olden days, family members tended to live together much longer than now. And stay connected, particularly since they stayed in the area more often than now. Now, people go off to different geographical areas to pursue their goals, and are not able to spend time with family on a daily basis, preventing the support system of family (some families aren't supportive, though, and are dysfunctional).
As for the rat race, that's because of large corporations, I guess, who squeeze every extra hour from their workers. But people can choose who to work for. And it's not a rat race in all countries (like Switzerland, Sweden, and others). It's better now, though, IMO. People are more able to choose their goals and pursue them, particularly minorities and women. Progress can be both good and bad, I guess.
Bingo. This is why I will move to Latin America in 2-3 years. I want a community. Sick of the isolation.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
