3 ms·

That was probably me :-). You got the essence of my post correct. I was observing that human's wants, desires, aspirations seem to grow exponentially and as soo

That was probably me :-). You got the essence of my post correct. I was observing that human's wants, desires, aspirations seem to grow exponentially and as soon as you get what you wanted you want more. Yet back in the village my relatives have less, they want less and yet are less stressed than me the city dweller with more than them.

johnsonjo 8y ago
I definitely agree with this sentiment. I lived in the Philippines for over a year and I was expecting the people to have the kind of sadness I would see in the commercials they sometimes show in the US for charities and such. In my first area, in the Phillipines, out in the rural boondocks I saw a lot of poverty, but I also saw a surprisingly large amount of happiness and a deep community atmosphere. The people were so kind and thoughtful. I didn’t ask them about their aspirations all that often, but they often seemed content with their life as it was. Every once in a while you would get someone who had higher ambitions e.g. those who wanted to move out into the city. Seeing their contentment and the time I spent there helped me realize that happiness doesn’t need to come from material things and having more than everyone else. I feel American culture has often tried to teach me otherwise. Sad.
pbhjpbhj 8y ago
Yes it was! My short term memory isn't always reliable but glad if I got the gist right -- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17373062 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17373062 was your comment I was referencing for those following along at home.
spiralx 8y ago
It's more that human's judge their status relative to their peers, not by any absolute scale - so despite having more absolute wealth after moving to the city, their status relative to everyone else is far lower than it was back in their village.

3 ms·

That was probably me :-). You got the essence of my post correct. I was observing that human's wants, desires, aspirations seem to grow exponentially and as soo

by mmsimanga 8y ago

johnsonjo 8y ago
I definitely agree with this sentiment. I lived in the Philippines for over a year and I was expecting the people to have the kind of sadness I would see in the commercials they sometimes show in the US for charities and such. In my first area, in the Phillipines, out in the rural boondocks I saw a lot of poverty, but I also saw a surprisingly large amount of happiness and a deep community atmosphere. The people were so kind and thoughtful. I didn’t ask them about their aspirations all that often, but they often seemed content with their life as it was. Every once in a while you would get someone who had higher ambitions e.g. those who wanted to move out into the city. Seeing their contentment and the time I spent there helped me realize that happiness doesn’t need to come from material things and having more than everyone else. I feel American culture has often tried to teach me otherwise. Sad.
pbhjpbhj 8y ago
Yes it was! My short term memory isn't always reliable but glad if I got the gist right -- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17373062 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17373062 was your comment I was referencing for those following along at home.
spiralx 8y ago
It's more that human's judge their status relative to their peers, not by any absolute scale - so despite having more absolute wealth after moving to the city, their status relative to everyone else is far lower than it was back in their village.