I love the raw truth in this, a sad sentiment that is felt in soulless offices across the world, sucking the vitality out of those who have little choice but to go along with the misery, hanging on for retirement while making do with meaningful escapes. Humanity can do better but we still have the collective mindset of system justification, hating the situation but feeling helpless to do much about it.
As a friend said to me earlier today, solidarity brother!
Thanks for this brother, ive felt like this for many years now. it is this fucking system. still i believe that "Absolute hope dawns at the moment when the narrative, which is constitutive of our life, collapses."... greetings from Mexico...
Great writing, and very scary - it's exactly where I was 25 years ago in the UK (ever seen the UK version of the sitcom The Office?). I was lucky and was able to get out after a couple of years, volunteering overseas, and got a job for an NGO that I have worked for very happily ever since. Best of luck.
I hearted it for the sentiment and quality of writing...but like Lori Ayre, I don't love your situation. I do however share it a bit so I empathize with you. I'm likely closer to retirement than you (~4 years) so I have that to look forward to. And I still love and am married to my wonderful wife; she makes things worth it.
Hang in there. Try to "steal" even the tiniest joy where you can.
I came across the following "meditation sequence" (that's what Ezra Klein called it) that really spoke to me. Perhaps it will lift you up or change your perspective.
I am of the nature to grow old.
I am of the nature to get sick.
I am of the nature to lose the people I love.
I am of the nature to die.
So, how then shall I live?
I understand that these are related to or based on the Five Remembrances of Buddhism. I'm not a Buddhist (I'm a Christian), but I'm happy to learn from any source.
These statements remind me what is important; and that is others and my relationship to them. So, I'll try to adjust, ever so slightly, my daily behavior towards caring for others and myself a little more.
Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt, sold the t-shirt, had to scrounge up some money to buy a t-shirt at Goodwill after I ended up homeless a couple of times, rinse and repeat. This is the worker's life in the 21st century.
Something's gotta give someday, right?
I also wrote some stuff about mutual aid and surviving in a dystopia once. (Where the Bodies Lie by Cindy A. Matthews) My publisher (slowly going out of business now) didn't understand it all. It had to have romance in it I was told. So I put one in, but things don't turn out quite perfectly for the couple because that ain't real life, and I can't stand to write too much "happily ever after" stuff anymore. But at least I got to blow up the CEOs on the page!
Nice quick read while I am also at work, hehe. Your quote from The Factory rang a bell and it seems Luigi Mangione may have read your work as he quotes, ”'Violence never solved anything’ is a statement uttered by cowards and predators” in his review of 'Industrial Society and Its Future' via goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4065667863
So many office workers, so many lives wasted. Have you read Graeber's 'Bullshit Jobs?'
I had a nice government job which was surely less soul sucking than what you describe, but the screen-staring and email writing and Teams meeting was ever-present. I had to leave. I will never go back. I have less money, but I am so, so much happier. (I am lucky to live in France, so no healthcare/insurance worries...) Best of luck.
The more I read of your work the more apparent the parallels with my own life become apparent. I was also a teacher before I packed that in in favour of office work for pretty much the same money.
I hearted it, but you know....I don't really love the situation at all.
Understandable
Same. Consider it a digital hug saying, I feel you, man.
Same here
You've just written what I've been feeling for many years. I'm glad I'm not alone in feeling this way.
I love the raw truth in this, a sad sentiment that is felt in soulless offices across the world, sucking the vitality out of those who have little choice but to go along with the misery, hanging on for retirement while making do with meaningful escapes. Humanity can do better but we still have the collective mindset of system justification, hating the situation but feeling helpless to do much about it.
As a friend said to me earlier today, solidarity brother!
Soooolidarity foreeever 🎵🎵
You are absolutely right
Thanks for this brother, ive felt like this for many years now. it is this fucking system. still i believe that "Absolute hope dawns at the moment when the narrative, which is constitutive of our life, collapses."... greetings from Mexico...
We're all enslaved gears in the machine that destroys meaning, beauty, and an inhabitable planet itself. Sheer insanity.
Great writing, and very scary - it's exactly where I was 25 years ago in the UK (ever seen the UK version of the sitcom The Office?). I was lucky and was able to get out after a couple of years, volunteering overseas, and got a job for an NGO that I have worked for very happily ever since. Best of luck.
Damn, that sounds cool
Very raw. Thx
I am not working. I am at work reading your writing. But I’d rather be out in the woods or something (no offense).
Damn, I'd rather be hiking than writing. Prefer the mountains over the woods, but I get it ♥️
I hearted it for the sentiment and quality of writing...but like Lori Ayre, I don't love your situation. I do however share it a bit so I empathize with you. I'm likely closer to retirement than you (~4 years) so I have that to look forward to. And I still love and am married to my wonderful wife; she makes things worth it.
Hang in there. Try to "steal" even the tiniest joy where you can.
I came across the following "meditation sequence" (that's what Ezra Klein called it) that really spoke to me. Perhaps it will lift you up or change your perspective.
I am of the nature to grow old.
I am of the nature to get sick.
I am of the nature to lose the people I love.
I am of the nature to die.
So, how then shall I live?
I understand that these are related to or based on the Five Remembrances of Buddhism. I'm not a Buddhist (I'm a Christian), but I'm happy to learn from any source.
These statements remind me what is important; and that is others and my relationship to them. So, I'll try to adjust, ever so slightly, my daily behavior towards caring for others and myself a little more.
I love the Five Remembrances. It's such a simple practice, but reminding myself of this every day really does slowly change things.
In the version I recite, the fifth remembrance is a little different, and I think it packs a bit of a punch:
"My actions are my only possessions. They are the ground on which I stand, and will be my only continuation"
Thank you for sharing.
Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt, sold the t-shirt, had to scrounge up some money to buy a t-shirt at Goodwill after I ended up homeless a couple of times, rinse and repeat. This is the worker's life in the 21st century.
Something's gotta give someday, right?
I also wrote some stuff about mutual aid and surviving in a dystopia once. (Where the Bodies Lie by Cindy A. Matthews) My publisher (slowly going out of business now) didn't understand it all. It had to have romance in it I was told. So I put one in, but things don't turn out quite perfectly for the couple because that ain't real life, and I can't stand to write too much "happily ever after" stuff anymore. But at least I got to blow up the CEOs on the page!
Nice quick read while I am also at work, hehe. Your quote from The Factory rang a bell and it seems Luigi Mangione may have read your work as he quotes, ”'Violence never solved anything’ is a statement uttered by cowards and predators” in his review of 'Industrial Society and Its Future' via goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4065667863
As my close friends faded knuckle tattoos say, “uck vork”
So many office workers, so many lives wasted. Have you read Graeber's 'Bullshit Jobs?'
I had a nice government job which was surely less soul sucking than what you describe, but the screen-staring and email writing and Teams meeting was ever-present. I had to leave. I will never go back. I have less money, but I am so, so much happier. (I am lucky to live in France, so no healthcare/insurance worries...) Best of luck.
Graeber was a wise man indeed. May he Rest in Power!
Nobody can relate to this. Nobody at all.
The more I read of your work the more apparent the parallels with my own life become apparent. I was also a teacher before I packed that in in favour of office work for pretty much the same money.