this post was submitted on 20 Dec 2024
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Yep I know. I was in Peru for three weeks and I was amazed. People have nothing and live on dirt floors, yet are much happier then we are in the west.
I don't know what's wrong with us. Why can't we just enjoy what we have? But I honestly look at my own life, I'm tired of working, and I want to just relax and not work anymore. And it does seem like a big problem to me, I can't just quit and live on savings. And yet, in comparison, im being spoiled rotten to even have a job with a good income.
Why are we tired of working in the west? A lot of us are. Is it worse than our parents had it? I think so, to a degree. Some of our parents had ability to support families on a single slavery and buy houses. That's a luxary today.
I think a lot of it is feelings of helplessness. You're on a freight train that appears to be running straight at a cliff, you can't stop it, you can't even make it change course, and even with that looming in the distance, it feels increasingly hard to make the situation any better before you hit that wall. Even having proof that you can improve your circumstances can remove that feeling of helplessness, and that seems to be very much unavailable for people living their relatively comfortable, if stagnant, lives in much of the developed world. If your life isn't where you want it to be and you don't see a path to achieve that, it's very hard to feel happy.
Yes, you said it very well. And we shouldnt be happy in that situation either.