It is a certain level of comfort and (unfortunate) conscientiousness that causes such a reaction, I know some with lower expectations who have no problem, whatsoever, maintaining their existence on so little that having a "work ethic" is an amusing concept. I have lived most of my adult life so far below the poverty level that you would expect much lack - but it is rarely so, so I know that with a certain amount of effort, one can live well with considerably less. That being said, it is very good to realize that lifestyle is a choice that we make. The ideal is to get the means to come to you without the cower. heh.
The way I see it culture and invention have sprung not just out necessity but out of free time. The more time you spend trying to put food on table, the less time you have to do other things.
@SandraErickson - When staying temporarily at my sister's townhouse in my college days (her husband was a TA at the university and they lived on $500 a month plus food stamps) I realized that middle class is a lifestyle choice, not an economic fact. They lived a very middle-class lifestyle (pleasant surroundings, excellent books and art and music, healthy food, etc.) on a poverty-level income.
@HereLiesNelsontheGreat - That was my gripe with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs when I studied it in grad school. It looked to me like in order to be fully "self-actualized" you had to have money. I don't think that's the case.
Nelson, can you draw a picture of a staunch idealist cowering in front of a monetary unit? I'd like to see that. I bet @SandraErickson - would too.
@HereLiesNelsontheGreat - Yes, of course, but I also think that we spend more time putting extra cars in the driveway and accumulating electronic toys (etc) than is either necessary OR healthy (bigger, better, more syndrome) My goal in life is ALWAYS to have more time to make art - and still eat, so I do with less unnecessary stuff. And, in truth, I am frequently MORE creative when I have to juggle my creative time with my real world survival time. After all these years I finally (thankfully) have a job that pays well and requires less of my time ((laughing)) and all I seem to be able to do is spend $$$$$. ((sigh)) It is so pathetic, but I have become a consumer . . . ((laughing)) . . . NOT the creative response I was expecting at all (go figure)
@Roadkill_Spatula - I raised my boys on $100 a week. We were desperately poor by just about everyone's standards - and there were times when we felt it, but for the most part it really was alright. I have made a "liveable" wage (care givers are supposed to live on the "gratifying experience" after all) only occasionally in my life, and really, for the most part, it has been just fine. And the unexpected bonus is that now that I am making an okay, almost middle class wage, I feel wealthy. Really. Life is pretty damned terrific.
Comments (9)
It is a certain level of comfort and (unfortunate) conscientiousness that causes such a reaction, I know some with lower expectations who have no problem, whatsoever, maintaining their existence on so little that having a "work ethic" is an amusing concept. I have lived most of my adult life so far below the poverty level that you would expect much lack - but it is rarely so, so I know that with a certain amount of effort, one can live well with considerably less. That being said, it is very good to realize that lifestyle is a choice that we make. The ideal is to get the means to come to you without the cower. heh.
@SandraErickson - So an ideal poor house?
The way I see it culture and invention have sprung not just out necessity but out of free time. The more time you spend trying to put food on table, the less time you have to do other things.
@SandraErickson - When staying temporarily at my sister's townhouse in my college days (her husband was a TA at the university and they lived on $500 a month plus food stamps) I realized that middle class is a lifestyle choice, not an economic fact. They lived a very middle-class lifestyle (pleasant surroundings, excellent books and art and music, healthy food, etc.) on a poverty-level income.
@HereLiesNelsontheGreat - That was my gripe with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs when I studied it in grad school. It looked to me like in order to be fully "self-actualized" you had to have money. I don't think that's the case.
Nelson, can you draw a picture of a staunch idealist cowering in front of a monetary unit? I'd like to see that. I bet @SandraErickson - would too.
@Roadkill_Spatula - Dollar bills are huge
@Roadkill_Spatula - And I can only draw starched idealists
Starched will be fine. Make him cower.
@HereLiesNelsontheGreat - Yes, of course, but I also think that we spend more time putting extra cars in the driveway and accumulating electronic toys (etc) than is either necessary OR healthy (bigger, better, more syndrome) My goal in life is ALWAYS to have more time to make art - and still eat, so I do with less unnecessary stuff. And, in truth, I am frequently MORE creative when I have to juggle my creative time with my real world survival time. After all these years I finally (thankfully) have a job that pays well and requires less of my time ((laughing)) and all I seem to be able to do is spend $$$$$. ((sigh)) It is so pathetic, but I have become a consumer . . . ((laughing)) . . . NOT the creative response I was expecting at all (go figure)
@Roadkill_Spatula - I raised my boys on $100 a week. We were desperately poor by just about everyone's standards - and there were times when we felt it, but for the most part it really was alright. I have made a "liveable" wage (care givers are supposed to live on the "gratifying experience" after all) only occasionally in my life, and really, for the most part, it has been just fine. And the unexpected bonus is that now that I am making an okay, almost middle class wage, I feel wealthy. Really. Life is pretty damned terrific.