I am guilty of toiling too hard and often feeling like a machine, but I don't think it's in pursuit of wealth. I just seemed to be wired to overload and constantly test the circuits!
I think Thoreau's description is especially true for the American mind.
However, I think it is just the tip of the iceberg.
I think you'd really like Martin Heidegger's Question Concerning Technology , Richard. It's only about 30 pages, but he gives an incredible explanation and description of the western, modern paradigm.
Essentially, the westen mind views everything as a standing-reserve of potential energy, as the means toward an end. We never truly see things as they are, but only in how they can serve our needs. “To a certain extent, Heidegger argues, technology transforms humanity itself into standing-reserve. The forester, for example, is at the mercy of the paper industry, which in turn is at the mercy of the print industry, which in turn transforms the reading public into a source of its own profits. He also notes that our use of the expression "human resources" aligns human beings with raw materials such as coal or petroleum.We might say that for technology, nothing in the world is "good" in and of itself, but only "good for" something.” http://www2.hawaii.edu/~zuern/demo/heidegger/
Most of us are indeed, caught up in the "fast paced race to succeed", our definition of success being acquisition of material resources...."things"..houses, cars, cottages, and status symbols like travel, cultural outings...
Would be nice to eliminate this madness and go back to simpler times of subsistence farming ...much less stress and way more appreciation. Ah, should have been a pioneer! But, Susannah Moodie, I am not!!
[19September-2007 @ 17:11 EST: Revised preamble. This page still gets the most search hits: There is no Anthony de Croud. The e-mail is SPAM. I post things that pique my fancy at the moment. I like the 8 precepts, but the rest of the e-mail is junk. However, I thought it fair to post everything in its entirety. I did not write the e-mail. I did not forward the e-mail. I strongly encourage you not to forward it either. (I also encourage you to reply to whomever sent you the e-mail and tell them you don't appreciate getting junk mail.)] Received this in our e-mail (English translation follows): PRECEPTO CHINO SOBRE EL DINERO EL DINERO PUEDE COMPRAR UNA CASA, PERO NO UN HOGAR, EL DINERO PUEDE COMPRAR UN RELOJ, PERO NO EL TIEMPO. EL DINERO PUEDE COMPRAR UNA CAMA, PERO NO EL SUEÑO. EL DINERO PUEDE COMPRAR UN LIBRO, PERO NO EL CONOCIMIENTO. EL DINERO PUEDE PAGAR UN MÉDICO, PERO NO LA SALUD. EL DINERO PUEDE COMPRAR UNA POSICIÓN, PERO NO EL RESPETO. EL DINERO PUEDE COMPRAR LA SANGRE, PERO ...
A friend of mine is an ovo-lactic vegetarian. This means that in addition to the plant matter he consumes, he also consumes dairy products and eggs. Dairy products I can accept, but eggs? … hmm, I wasn’t so sure - it sounds a bit like those vegetarians who say they eat chicken and fish. After all, the egg is an animal product. His answer was simple and satisfying, "Eggs are chicken menses. The hen will produce an egg whether she is fertilized or not. Unfertilized eggs are the discarded products of ovulation akin to menses in mammals." Image grabbed from here .
I hadn't been to my dentist since May-2004 (normally I went on weekends, but since Sofia and the kids moved to Montreal, I am not in Ottawa on the weekends). Last night, as I was munching on some cashews, I felt a pain in one of my molars and then some grit in my mouth. I went and washed it out, assuming that maybe there had been a stone or something amount the cashews. Turns out I noticed a hole in the surface of the molar (top right, second from the back, my wisdom teeth were removed years ago). Fishing around for grit in my mouth, it looked like crumbled filling. So I assumed that my filling had cracked and crumbled and come out. Went to the dentist this morning, he took an x-ray and came back with bad news. I have a large cavity under the filling, which gave way. The filling did not fall out, but rather impacted into the space of the cavity. He did not rework the filling, since the cavity is very near the root - cleaning it out would likely result in exposing the root. As some...
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However, I think it is just the tip of the iceberg.
I think you'd really like Martin Heidegger's Question Concerning Technology , Richard. It's only about 30 pages, but he gives an incredible explanation and description of the western, modern paradigm.
Essentially, the westen mind views everything as a standing-reserve of potential energy, as the means toward an end. We never truly see things as they are, but only in how they can serve our needs. “To a certain extent, Heidegger argues, technology transforms humanity itself into standing-reserve. The forester, for example, is at the mercy of the paper industry, which in turn is at the mercy of the print industry, which in turn transforms the reading public into a source of its own profits. He also notes that our use of the expression "human resources" aligns human beings with raw materials such as coal or petroleum.We might say that for technology, nothing in the world is "good" in and of itself, but only "good for" something.” http://www2.hawaii.edu/~zuern/demo/heidegger/
well,i had a good read as usual. :)
thanx for sharing :)
Would be nice to eliminate this madness and go back to simpler times of subsistence farming ...much less stress and way more appreciation. Ah, should have been a pioneer! But, Susannah Moodie, I am not!!