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I really appreciate this post and how it highlights the power of becoming involved in occupation. I use that term in the context of the fact that my spouse is a

I really appreciate this post and how it highlights the power of becoming involved in occupation. I use that term in the context of the fact that my spouse is an Occupational Therapist by trade. In that field, the term occupation refers to a collection of activities of daily living, not a "job" per se. Rather than seeing patients through a framework of diagnosis or disability, they look at activities and people's ability to perform them, and intervene where there is lack. In practice that may involve helping an amputee learn how to put on socks, or helping an autistic child participate in education. More broadly, a central philosophy of their field is that meaningful occupation is a powerful motivator that has cascading effects across the many component activities in somebody's daily life. OP's post described how becoming involved as a Guix contributor effectively organized and motivated other areas of their life as well. The fact that we all are here hanging out on a VC's forum tends to color our idea of what value means. I think this post inspires that there is value to not only the community but also the individual as well in just "doing cool stuff".

chrisweekly 4y ago
Yes! See also the Japanese concept of "ikigai", which helps explain why many people's ideas equating traditional retirement with happiness are so misguided.
- drewzero1 4y ago
  I'm at a point in my (young adult) life where I'm starting to think really seriously about planning for retirement, and I'm finding that the idea of just "putting my feet up" at a certain age actually disgusts me. I work with a lot of retired people and while I don't want to stay in this particular job/company/field until I die, I do hope to keep doing meaningful work in some capacity into my twilight years.
tetha 4y ago
This reminds me of something someone told me about hobbies, and becoming good at something: If you want to become really good at something, find simple enjoyment in doing the thing, and not in other people or the results. Like, don't become a metal bass player because you want to play in a band to perform at Wacken. That will fail and disappoint. Instead, find enjoyment in rhythm kicking people like a damn horse, or find enjoyment in how different rhythm structures can be, and sounds an instrument can make. For me, it's becoming really interesting to understand how different fundamental rhythms of different genres are.

chrisweekly 4y ago

Yes! See also the Japanese concept of "ikigai", which helps explain why many people's ideas equating traditional retirement with happiness are so misguided.

drewzero1 4y ago
I'm at a point in my (young adult) life where I'm starting to think really seriously about planning for retirement, and I'm finding that the idea of just "putting my feet up" at a certain age actually disgusts me. I work with a lot of retired people and while I don't want to stay in this particular job/company/field until I die, I do hope to keep doing meaningful work in some capacity into my twilight years.

tetha 4y ago

This reminds me of something someone told me about hobbies, and becoming good at something: If you want to become really good at something, find simple enjoyment in doing the thing, and not in other people or the results. Like, don't become a metal bass player because you want to play in a band to perform at Wacken. That will fail and disappoint. Instead, find enjoyment in rhythm kicking people like a damn horse, or find enjoyment in how different rhythm structures can be, and sounds an instrument can make. For me, it's becoming really interesting to understand how different fundamental rhythms of different genres are.