Money. The root of all evil or the key to a stress free existence? Who cares and why am I digging this deep on my first post to a blog dedicated to miscellany? Truth is, a recent bout of unemployment (yes, due to the recession) has me pondering life, liberty and the pursuit of (you guessed it) happiness. I am one of many, recently plopped into the street on a blustery day, gripping a bamboo plant and a fistful of Italian paperclips, pondering whether to frantically log into my Linked In account and renew old relationships, or stop to consider that there may be more to life than ACT notes and arduous conversation over chopped salad and unremarkable pizza.
Four years ago, I was a bright college graduate, headed for an exceptional future and looking for a way to rent the quaint yellow house (on some of the most coveted land Long Island has to offer) that was utterly perfect for EB and I to start our grown up lives. A job selling classified ads for techie trade mags was not glamorous, nor relevant to my degree (journalism), but it was a beginning, MY beginning, and I loved every moment of it. Little did I know that slowly my love of learning and thirst for living life to the fullest would slowly dissipate with each and every "cold call" and "Pot Luck" lunch. Gradually, a thriving collegiate environment is replaced with the dull hum of fluorescent lighting, late night cram sessions over nachos and beer turn into weekly sales meetings designed to inflate one persons ego and diminish eight or ten others. Three high profile magazine companies later, the pot luck transformed into sushi and a stunning view of Central Park. Just as Cinderella's carriage turned back into a pumpkin, this glammed up world was nothing more than a thinly veiled playground of insecurity and power, a deadly combination. Suddenly, a budding career evaporates in a cloud of BXM2 dust. But a new chance for integrity resurfaces, and the hope of finding fulfilling work returns with a vengeance.
In a world where we are overdue for a Yellowstone "Super volcanic Eruption" by 600,000 + years, where economic and natural disasters abound, and the end of the Mayan calendar (and supposedly the world) looms close on the horizon, is money itself enough of a reason to give up one's essence? I'm no longer drinking the Kool Aid.
As the Bhutanese say:
When the last tree is cut,
When the last river is emptied,
When the last fish is caught,
Only then will man realize that he can not eat money.
Discuss.
Four years ago, I was a bright college graduate, headed for an exceptional future and looking for a way to rent the quaint yellow house (on some of the most coveted land Long Island has to offer) that was utterly perfect for EB and I to start our grown up lives. A job selling classified ads for techie trade mags was not glamorous, nor relevant to my degree (journalism), but it was a beginning, MY beginning, and I loved every moment of it. Little did I know that slowly my love of learning and thirst for living life to the fullest would slowly dissipate with each and every "cold call" and "Pot Luck" lunch. Gradually, a thriving collegiate environment is replaced with the dull hum of fluorescent lighting, late night cram sessions over nachos and beer turn into weekly sales meetings designed to inflate one persons ego and diminish eight or ten others. Three high profile magazine companies later, the pot luck transformed into sushi and a stunning view of Central Park. Just as Cinderella's carriage turned back into a pumpkin, this glammed up world was nothing more than a thinly veiled playground of insecurity and power, a deadly combination. Suddenly, a budding career evaporates in a cloud of BXM2 dust. But a new chance for integrity resurfaces, and the hope of finding fulfilling work returns with a vengeance.
In a world where we are overdue for a Yellowstone "Super volcanic Eruption" by 600,000 + years, where economic and natural disasters abound, and the end of the Mayan calendar (and supposedly the world) looms close on the horizon, is money itself enough of a reason to give up one's essence? I'm no longer drinking the Kool Aid.
As the Bhutanese say:
When the last tree is cut,
When the last river is emptied,
When the last fish is caught,
Only then will man realize that he can not eat money.
Discuss.
- KJ
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well said.
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