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When I feel like sleeping, I sleep. When I feel like walking in the park, I walk. When I feel like eating Stilton cheese with some barbunya pilaki and a nice bu

by 2b3a51 4y ago

When I feel like sleeping, I sleep. When I feel like walking in the park, I walk. When I feel like eating Stilton cheese with some barbunya pilaki and a nice burgundy, I eat and drink. When I feel like logging into HN to upvote various posts, I log in. You get the idea. Nothing small like this basically matters. I'm well into my seventh decade and enjoying the ride, doing what I can to improve the situation but not getting too attached to stuff.

jliptzin 4y ago
I am half your age but I feel the same way. The sun is going to blow up one day anyway and no one really knows why we’re here in the first place. So, I’m going to enjoy my small slice of time any way I can.
slothtrop 4y ago
What we feel like, in the short-run / immediate sense, can be hijacked. Or come from discord. I can feel like never getting out of bed, getting a heroin fix, eating a pizza to myself with a case of beer, and repeating. I would also feel like shit, but those aren't mutually exclusive. I could also feel like hitting refresh on social media clients that make me anxious several times a day. I think that intuitive compass generally works, as you allude to, but not always. But as time passes, I don't think I "feel like" doing anything specific - what I feel like is getting a dopamine spike, blood flowing, social validation, feeling good. All of what we choose is just a vehicle.
thaway2839 4y ago
Part of the reason you can do that, though, is that based on your age, you spent most of your life living in a way where you were naturally active, just to get through the day. You likely did not grow up eating food that was manufactured to addict you to it. And you did not grow up on platforms that have scores of PHds trying to figure out how to get you, individually, addicted to their platform. IOW, your natural instincts largely worked because your environment supported a fairly high quality lifestyle. This is not close to true anymore. Our natural instincts and daily lives have been hijacked beyond recognition. With WFH, for example, people may go days without having walked beyond the distance it takes to go from their bed to their desk, or if they're lucky, from their bedroom to the home office.
coldtea 4y ago
>When I feel like sleeping, I sleep. When I feel like walking in the park, I walk. When I feel like eating Stilton cheese with some barbunya pilaki and a nice burgundy, I eat and drink. When I feel like logging into HN to upvote various posts, I log in. You get the idea. Yeah, we get it: you're independently wealthy and doesn't need to work, nor have timelines imposed on your days. Or, you don't really do all those things "when you feel like it" (and the above is what you'd like to do). Or, you do them "when you feel like to", but this surprisingly coincides with your free time and holidays... No fourth option, iirc
- Barrin92 4y ago
  not OP but I've always lived pretty much the same way without being wealthy, walk in the park costs nothing and even a nice bottle of wine isn't really expensive. The high stress lifestyle is definitely a choice. Fancy car, fancy house, posh neighborhood etc aren't necessary. If you live modestly you have plenty of time and leisure. I spent some time living in a Kibbutz in my 20s and while you have to work it never felt stressful or like a chore or as if you're defined by it. These days as a dev in particular, you can take on a half-day job move to a cheap place in the country with a nice community, you have as much control over your time as you want.
  - 8bitsrule 4y ago
    Couldn't agree more. I once read that, before colonialism came along, 'uncivilized' (hah) natives in most of the world spent 2 or 3 hours a day on food, shelter, clothing, defense. Plenty of time then to enjoy the world, find rocks and plants, make tools, do creative stuff, tell kids stories. (Didn't need dentists either.) Big secret: The rest IS entirely arbitrary.
- al_borland 4y ago
  Did you miss the part where he said he was in his 60s? You make it sound like he’s a trust fund kid, when it’s likely that he just worked his whole life and is now retired.
- 2b3a51 4y ago

by 2b3a51 4y ago

jliptzin 4y ago

I am half your age but I feel the same way. The sun is going to blow up one day anyway and no one really knows why we’re here in the first place. So, I’m going to enjoy my small slice of time any way I can.

slothtrop 4y ago

What we feel like, in the short-run / immediate sense, can be hijacked. Or come from discord. I can feel like never getting out of bed, getting a heroin fix, eating a pizza to myself with a case of beer, and repeating. I would also feel like shit, but those aren't mutually exclusive. I could also feel like hitting refresh on social media clients that make me anxious several times a day. I think that intuitive compass generally works, as you allude to, but not always. But as time passes, I don't think I "feel like" doing anything specific - what I feel like is getting a dopamine spike, blood flowing, social validation, feeling good. All of what we choose is just a vehicle.

thaway2839 4y ago

Part of the reason you can do that, though, is that based on your age, you spent most of your life living in a way where you were naturally active, just to get through the day. You likely did not grow up eating food that was manufactured to addict you to it. And you did not grow up on platforms that have scores of PHds trying to figure out how to get you, individually, addicted to their platform. IOW, your natural instincts largely worked because your environment supported a fairly high quality lifestyle. This is not close to true anymore. Our natural instincts and daily lives have been hijacked beyond recognition. With WFH, for example, people may go days without having walked beyond the distance it takes to go from their bed to their desk, or if they're lucky, from their bedroom to the home office.

coldtea 4y ago

>When I feel like sleeping, I sleep. When I feel like walking in the park, I walk. When I feel like eating Stilton cheese with some barbunya pilaki and a nice burgundy, I eat and drink. When I feel like logging into HN to upvote various posts, I log in. You get the idea. Yeah, we get it: you're independently wealthy and doesn't need to work, nor have timelines imposed on your days. Or, you don't really do all those things "when you feel like it" (and the above is what you'd like to do). Or, you do them "when you feel like to", but this surprisingly coincides with your free time and holidays... No fourth option, iirc

Barrin92 4y ago
not OP but I've always lived pretty much the same way without being wealthy, walk in the park costs nothing and even a nice bottle of wine isn't really expensive. The high stress lifestyle is definitely a choice. Fancy car, fancy house, posh neighborhood etc aren't necessary. If you live modestly you have plenty of time and leisure. I spent some time living in a Kibbutz in my 20s and while you have to work it never felt stressful or like a chore or as if you're defined by it. These days as a dev in particular, you can take on a half-day job move to a cheap place in the country with a nice community, you have as much control over your time as you want.
- 8bitsrule 4y ago
  Couldn't agree more. I once read that, before colonialism came along, 'uncivilized' (hah) natives in most of the world spent 2 or 3 hours a day on food, shelter, clothing, defense. Plenty of time then to enjoy the world, find rocks and plants, make tools, do creative stuff, tell kids stories. (Didn't need dentists either.) Big secret: The rest IS entirely arbitrary.
al_borland 4y ago
Did you miss the part where he said he was in his 60s? You make it sound like he’s a trust fund kid, when it’s likely that he just worked his whole life and is now retired.
2b3a51 4y ago