The Older I Become, the Less LIFE, as we know it, Makes Sense to Me. Do you feel the same as I? Like Vonnegut, do you yearn for life on Saturn, someday?

[1FinickyOne]

3 hours ago, sanooki said:

a very successful systems analyst for pharma and banking companies.

so, you have reformed your ways? repented?  or believe you have... 

 

3 hours ago, sanooki said:

young people not seeing the value in their elders wisdom seems even more intensely true these days.

I hate to say it, and I am older than you and out of the business world much longer, but the world has changed so much, and exponentially so over the last decade, that it might be arrogant if I thought I could help young people... people used to come to me regularly for business advice, which I can no longer offer...

 

And so my purpose remains restricted to helping those around me, family and friends, to enjoy each day..

 

eat well, enjoy each miserable day [as they say] don't live too long and... [fill in the blank according to your individual taste ] 

 

good luck w/your future endeavors and barking up the right tree... 

 

 

[nobodysfriend]

9 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

We finally understand that our only reason and justification for living is to pay back, in some positive way, for that which we have received when we were young.

All that I got from society and my parents when I was young was a lot of shyt . I would like to pay them back . But now we have Covid . 

 

[1FinickyOne]

18 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

I would like to have been a Viking. ????

don't lose hope - - keep the faith baby... you are not alone

 

There was one of you guys walking around the capital building in USA during the insurrection... 

[nobodysfriend]

8 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Whether or not there is any "hidden" meaning to the Universe, or maybe Multiverse, other than it just exists, I think not.

 

How many billions of Galaxies in Universe ? How many Solar systems with planets in just one Galaxy ?

What is all that good for ?

It is all about the evolution of species .

If there is a species that destroys the ecological system that made it appear in the first place , it will be punished with suffering and extinction in the long term . 

Too stupid or selfish to ensure it's own survival , this species is lost .

No matter , there are billions of other species who will survive and further evolve .

Evolution is a one-way street . No way to go back , as time has changed everything already in the meantime ...

[nobodysfriend]

1 minute ago, nobodysfriend said:

double post , sorry ...

 

[tonray]

11 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Now that we are becoming old, then what is the point of life?

I live for dark chocolate and afternoon Lattes....hope that helps

[thaibeachlovers]

3 hours ago, sanooki said:

Irony. This topic is on my mind almost constantly. I escaped the rat race, in stages, 12 years ago. I was a very successful systems analyst for pharma and banking companies. I first started teaching computers and programming along with English in high schools here. For the past 7 years, I've been teaching English subjects for a government university. I'm probably one of the only westerners to attempt to teach critical thinking here in a university. I actually used a book with that title in two semester-long courses in argumentative writing. Another notable course I was allowed to teach was western culture.

 

Now approaching 62, and with the (whatever you want to call this situation) raging, I find myself the last remaining westerner on my campus, facing tomorrow as my final day of work. I've been cut loose. I will attempt to find some place that will see value in my skills. I've applied for early retirement funds, so I may not need much income.

 

The loss of purpose, however, is very heavy now. This is compounded by the fact nobody here (or anywhere else, from what I see daily) appears to value the important skill of critical thinking any more. The cliche about young people not seeing the value in their elders wisdom seems even more intensely true these days. I was in a position to share daily, yet these valuable perspectives are now seen as a liability by not the youngest, but by the current leadership, who are younger than me. The students who got a taste and could follow a bit were yearning to learn more. I had a group who had requested me to teach debate this term. Instead of that, the leaders see thinking as dangerous. They attend all likes of seminars filled with doublespeak instead, and consider that progress.

 

Just when I was beginning to have an impact, I have been cut off. Sometimes, it seems as if it was because I was having an impact. Using my displaced energy will be a difficult task indeed as I was far from ready to quit, previously believing I'd be working here many more years. Thanks if you listened to this rant, and for giving the opportunity to unload it.

Interesting post.

I can't decide if you were in an ivory tower and have little idea of real life, or an idealist ( neither is meant in a derogatory sense ), but IMO you are in for a shock.

My experience of life post retirement is that NOBODY CARES about any skills I may have to pass on. Becoming a consumer of public funds rather than a contributor, I'm regarded as a liability by the bureaucrats that should be helping the elderly, but actually do sod all for us.

I would expand on that. IMO in the real world, outside of family, NOBODY CARES about other people. Life is tough enough caring about themselves and their family, so little is left for others. Also, people seem far more selfish now than when I was young. The saying " it's a dog eat dog world" IMO has never been more real than now.

 

The great advantage you have being quite young is that you still have enough years left to start another career, should you wish to do so.

 

quote

I'm probably one of the only westerners to attempt to teach critical thinking here in a university. I actually used a book with that title in two semester-long courses in argumentative writing. Another notable course I was allowed to teach was western culture.

end quote

 

Sorry, but I find it strange that you taught western culture, but attempted to teach something to Thais that IMO is not in their culture.

BTW, is there such a thing as "western culture"? I would think that as "western" covers a myriad of different cultures it would be impossible to distill it down to a version that could be taught.

I would venture that Irish and Italian cultures have little in common, and likewise between Spanish and NZ culture.

In my experience of various western cultures over the years the only commonality appears to be loose morals and a great love of alcohol. I'd have said greed, but that seems to be a universal human trait nowadays.

 

quote

Just when I was beginning to have an impact, I have been cut off.

end quote

That's the story of my life. No sooner had I reached a level of seniority or skill to make a difference than my contract was up, or I was forced out by those that felt threatened by me ( because I stood up to them and didn't take the BS ). Sometimes I just moved on in hope of something

better.

I'm sure that some will disagree with everything I wrote, but they are entitled to their opinion.

[BritManToo]

1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

BTW, is there such a thing as "western culture"? I would think that as "western" covers a myriad of different cultures it would be impossible to distill it down to a version that could be taught.

WASP ......... there you go, distilled into all that counts.

[VocalNeal]

4 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

like Vonnegut, we should stick around and just do what we can, while we still are able to breathe.

We breath out CO2 so one way to help the planet would be...

[thaibeachlovers]

4 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

WASP ......... there you go, distilled into all that counts.

I had to google that, and while true a long time ago, I don't know that it's still dominant. Immigration of a certain culture is having a large effect on our societies, IMO.

[Exploring Thailand]

10 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

The worst fate for a writer is to lose his mind.

And, so, no doubt this is why Hemingway used his gun.

 

Some people say, Hemingway was crazy to do this.  I do not agree.

Sounds like you've become very introverted with the years. What would the younger you advise right now? I'm sure it wouldn't involve blowing your head off with a gun. Maybe try to find yourself a small goal, or a big one, and take a step towards that, then another one. 

 

Rather that thinking too much about would you should do, just do something. If that doesn't work out, try something else.

[bert bloggs]

46 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

I would like to have been a Viking. ????

Now who would i have liked to have been ,? Gosh i struck gold ME,thats right i have loved being me ,born just after the war,had a great childhood and teenage years ,knew early on i was not going to be very rich so lived my life my way in my early 20s lived in London and mixed with so many tv and pop people, got married  ,got divorced ,had a fantastic relationship for many years ,it ended ,became very well known in my own field, made money  lost it ,got it back ,couple more fun marriages ,and now married to a fantastic wife,have great British and Thai family have a son and daughter ,lovely house here in Pattaya and now as my life comes to its last stages i can look back and say f-ck that was fun.

[gk10012001]

5 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Did you finally achieve what you were yearning for?

Possibly.  I am financially solvent.  Do not need to work but am still going on to the next engineering contract because Thailand is so messy right now.  I would be a bit bored just sitting around doing nothing.  I would dearly love to tutor Math, science, physics, etc.  I have a BS in engineering and a MS in Math.  I like to keep my brain a little active.  This year is a holding pattern until I decide to buy my Florida Retirement home, or just head to Thailand and grit it out, or rent a place in Florida for a while and just be a beach bum, etc.  I have friends in Los Angeles CA I can crash at for a bit while waiting for things to develop (or fall apart)!

[nobodysfriend]

3 minutes ago, bert bloggs said:

Now who would i have liked to have been ,? Gosh i struck gold ME,thats right i have loved being me ,born just after the war,had a great childhood and teenage years ,knew early on i was not going to be very rich so lived my life my way in my early 20s lived in London and mixed with so many tv and pop people, got married  ,got divorced ,had a fantastic relationship for many years ,it ended ,became very well known in my own field, made money  lost it ,got it back ,couple more fun marriages ,and now married to a fantastic wife,have great British and Thai family have a son and daughter ,lovely house here in Pattaya and now as my life comes to its last stages i can look back and say f-ck that was fun.

You had a life . You were lucky .

[Sparktrader]

53 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Yep, if CO2 is bad for crops why do so many greenhouse farmers add more? 

Correct. More is good. Current levels are low. Scientists talking about this get shouted down by the left.

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, Kwasaki said:

I would like to have been a Viking. ????

I'd like to have had more confidence with women, back when I was young and they weren't PC.

 

Other than that I'd like to have gone to work in the Aussie mines instead of becoming a nurse. I'd be incredibly wealthy now had I done so.

If I could use a time machine I'd go back and tell me not to make the biggest mistake of my life.

[ThLT]

10 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

The worst fate for a writer is to lose his mind.

And, so, no doubt this is why Hemingway used his gun.

 

Some people say, Hemingway was crazy to do this.  I do not agree.

Just to point out:

 

At the end of his life, Hemingway had serious health issues, among those being hereditary haemochromatosis, which is a disease that makes you over-absorb iron, which accumulates in your body and literally drives you mad. His father, sister, and brother all killed themselves and probably had it. However, he was officially diagnosed with the disease in 1961. He also had brain issues from severe concussions from his plane crashes.

[Kwasaki]

16 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I'd like to have had more confidence with women, back when I was young and they weren't PC.

 

Other than that I'd like to have gone to work in the Aussie mines instead of becoming a nurse. I'd be incredibly wealthy now had I done so.

If I could use a time machine I'd go back and tell me not to make the biggest mistake of my life.

That's quite sad, like the song in my life I've had my regrets but few to mention.

My youngest daughter in UK is a paramedic and luv's her job. 

[nobodysfriend]

2 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

That's quite sad, like the song in my life I've had my regrets but few to mention.

My youngest daughter in UK is a paramedic and luv's her job. 

So , you did it your way ...?

[thaibeachlovers]

13 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

That's quite sad, like the song in my life I've had my regrets but few to mention.

My youngest daughter in UK is a paramedic and luv's her job. 

I'd love to have been a paramedic, but these days it's a bit risky given the patients they get. Same with A and E. I loved it during training, but now it's full of drunken yobs causing problems for the staff. No one needs that sort of agro.

 

The reason I should never have gone nursing was simple- BULLYING. Some of the senior nurses and managers were horrid bullies and they made my life a misery. I went nursing to help people and ended up having to retire early because of a few nasty people in positions of power.

Other than that it could be a great job, even though the pay was pitiful ( I didn't go into nursing to make money though, as one doesn't make much ).

 

With my qualifications ( Diesel mechanic, from a previous career ) I could have minted it in the Aussie mines. Friend of mine was an electrician in the mines. He lives in a million $ house now.

[Kwasaki]

4 minutes ago, nobodysfriend said:

So , you did it your way ...?

I guess so, had to brush myself off and start all over again a few times when I was young.

 

I inventually found a job I liked which is somewhat of an achievement in my book of life. 

 

Almost retired at an earlier time that I aim for, glad to get like my get out of jail free card from England and are pleased to have settled in Thailand.

[Kwasaki]

11 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I'd love to have been a paramedic, but these days it's a bit risky given the patients they get. Same with A and E. I loved it during training, but now it's full of drunken yobs causing problems for the staff. No one needs that sort of agro.

 

The reason I should never have gone nursing was simple- BULLYING. Some of the senior nurses and managers were horrid bullies and they made my life a misery. I went nursing to help people and ended up having to retire early because of a few nasty people in positions of power.

Other than that it could be a great job, even though the pay was pitiful ( I didn't go into nursing to make money though, as one doesn't make much ).

 

With my qualifications ( Diesel mechanic, from a previous career ) I could have minted it in the Aussie mines. Friend of mine was an electrician in the mines. He lives in a million $ house now.

Well it wouldn't be a job I would want, my thoughts are getting work you like is important in life and I'm thankful I found work that was satisfying and I was good at. 

[chalawaan]

I think the sense of chaos the OP feels is down to the overload of info now. It's no longer a case of history being swept under the carpet and forgotten. Every human with a device is now a potential reporter, or whistleblower, and also has access to all the output of several other billion eyes and ears, and whispers.

Without technology, we'd never hear about 99.9% of the bastardry. It's not new, it's just exposed.

[BangkokReady]

12 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Now that we are becoming old, then what is the point of life?

Look after and teach the young.

[55Jay]

IMO, there is no 'purpose'.  That is a man-made construct we've been conditioned to in various ways, depending on where you were born, ethnicity, culture, societal organization, and for many, the additional lens of a manufactured religion.

 

Otherwise, we are animals in the natural system.  We are born, try to survive, reproduce, and would still be dying at a much younger age if we were living as intended, before modernization and intervention of medical science. 

 

As each successive generation gets older than nature intended, its members often yearn for the simpler times of their youth, feeling they are no longer a part of the increasingly chaotic world around them, and that they've had enough of it. 

 

They may well be onto something.

[thaibeachlovers]

26 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Well it wouldn't be a job I would want, my thoughts are getting work you like is important in life and I'm thankful I found work that was satisfying and I was good at. 

I don't want to give the impression that the work itself was bad. It was just the bullying from senior nurses and management, plus some patient visitors that spoiled it. I did do it for decades, so obviously found something I liked about it.

However, it's not something I'd recommend to a friend if they had a choice.

 

The ironic thing about nursing is that it's run by nurses that don't like doing actual hands on nursing. We never saw charge nurse emptying used bed pans or matron making beds.

[thaibeachlovers]

21 minutes ago, 55Jay said:

IMO, there is no 'purpose'.  That is a man-made construct we've been conditioned to in various ways, depending on where you were born, ethnicity, culture, societal organization, and for many, the additional lens of a manufactured religion.

 

Otherwise, we are animals in the natural system.  We are born, try to survive, reproduce, and would still be dying at a much younger age if we were living as intended, before modernization and intervention of medical science. 

 

As each successive generation gets older than nature intended, its members often yearn for the simpler times of their youth, feeling they are no longer a part of the increasingly chaotic world around them, and that they've had enough of it. 

 

They may well be onto something.

While I agree with what you say about us living too long, I don't agree about "no purpose". IMO only lower animals live without purpose. IMO humans were given the blessing ( or curse ) of needing to have meaning in life. IMO that's why we become religious or follow religious like movements like the climate change believers, or join criminal gangs.

[thaibeachlovers]

30 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

Look after and teach the young.

No thanks. As a mere male I'm more likely to be accused of some nefarious reason for wanting to be around kids than thanked for helping them.

[BritManToo]

46 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Well it wouldn't be a job I would want, my thoughts are getting work you like is important in life and I'm thankful I found work that was satisfying and I was good at. 

I don't think I ever managed to find work I liked.

Even tried working as a Scuba instructor (UK/Malta/Israel/Jorden), completely destroyed all enjoyment I got from diving. In the end I just settled on the job that paid me the most money and pension, in the shortest time ........ now that was satisfying, not the job, but retiring at age 45.

[Kwasaki]

16 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I don't think I ever managed to find work I liked.

Even tried working as a Scuba instructor (UK/Malta/Israel/Jorden), completely destroyed all enjoyment I got from diving. In the end I just settled on the job that paid me the most money and pension, in the shortest time ........ now that was satisfying, not the job, but retiring at age 45.

Had some friends who retired at 45 they were police officers.