4 ms·

Right! This whole life thing is about striking a balance between "eat your cake today" and "spend your day in the field cultivating wheat to make the flour to m

Right! This whole life thing is about striking a balance between "eat your cake today" and "spend your day in the field cultivating wheat to make the flour to make more cake in the future". In every moment of my life there has been some "cake" I could have "eaten" that would have been more enjoyable than all the hours I spent up in the middle of the night with screaming babies. But on my deathbed I'm certain it will be my investment of time in my children that I'm glad of, not the foregone "cake" I'm regretting.

orasiscore 3y ago
Some insightful thought there right!!!
eitally 3y ago
I think the real fundamental point that both you and the author make is that it's the things that are investments of time that are worthwhile, and that we should endeavor - in our mindfulness - to adjudicate the utility of time investments actively in order to maximize our ROI. I 100% agree! Going through the motions, getting dumped on, or losing one's ability to subjectively assess comparative value is no way to lead a happy life (for oneself of the ones around you).
mtklein 3y ago
One bit I find easy to lose sight of is that if I do spend my day cultivating wheat for flour for a cake, to make sure to eventually make and eat that cake, and not just spend all my time getting better at cultivating more and more wheat.
- sanderjd 3y ago
  Yes! It's like the problem of when to stand up from the blackjack table.
- IggleSniggle 3y ago
  I dunno, I've discovered a deep joy in cultivating, to the point where it has developed into my "cake" to simply cultivate. I don't mind if someone else ultimately reaps the benefits, since from my own vantage I won't regret having spent an extra day in the field, doing the work. To me, this is the goal; to be able to look up towards the sun every day, sore muscles and sweat dripping, and say, "thank you for this day." Metaphorically, I mean. In truth I'm a cave-dwelling grug-minded developer.
  - RHSman2 3y ago
    Chapeau!!!! :)
  - CrazyPyroLinux 3y ago
    Thank you for leading me to https://grugbrain.dev/ https://grugbrain.dev/
Clubber 3y ago
Your children are your cake.
- RHSman2 3y ago
  My children’s cake is my cake
- civilitty 3y ago
  That doesn't seem like a sustainable source of protein.
- sanderjd 3y ago
  Sometimes! Increasingly so as they get older. But a lot of the time, personally I would say most of the time until they're four years old or so, it's more like plowing, sowing, harvesting, and milling than it is like enjoying a slice of cake.
- TeMPOraL 3y ago
  That approach means your life ends with your first child; since you'll presumably want your children to believe that line too, then their lives will all lead to and end with their children. All in all, this is just saying, the only meaning of life is to procreate - and reduces humanity back down to level of any other simpler life form. Eat, fuck, die, repeat. It's a belief I find hugely depressing.
  - Clubber 3y ago
    People get a lot of gratification in raising children. Something that people without children can't really understand fully. I know I didn't understand it until I had children. You're building (for lack of a better word) something that will outlast you, the original legacy, one that nearly anyone can achieve. If you spend time helping people in need, I mean really spending time and energy, not just donating or virtue signaling, it's similar. An example would be teaching or coaching; being a big brother or adopting a child; being a good aunt or uncle; mentoring even, to a lesser degree, etc. Taking care of and benefiting someone who depends on you doing it really gives a lot of gratification. >reduces humanity back down to level of any other simpler life form. Eat, fuck, die, repeat. It's a little more than that but though humans (most) are civilized and intelligent, we're still a great ape. >It's a belief I find hugely depressing. Why? It's our nature. Jonas Salk is probably the finest human I can think of and he was certainly motivated by all those things.

orasiscore 3y ago

Some insightful thought there right!!!

eitally 3y ago

I think the real fundamental point that both you and the author make is that it's the things that are investments of time that are worthwhile, and that we should endeavor - in our mindfulness - to adjudicate the utility of time investments actively in order to maximize our ROI. I 100% agree! Going through the motions, getting dumped on, or losing one's ability to subjectively assess comparative value is no way to lead a happy life (for oneself of the ones around you).

mtklein 3y ago

One bit I find easy to lose sight of is that if I do spend my day cultivating wheat for flour for a cake, to make sure to eventually make and eat that cake, and not just spend all my time getting better at cultivating more and more wheat.

sanderjd 3y ago
Yes! It's like the problem of when to stand up from the blackjack table.
IggleSniggle 3y ago
I dunno, I've discovered a deep joy in cultivating, to the point where it has developed into my "cake" to simply cultivate. I don't mind if someone else ultimately reaps the benefits, since from my own vantage I won't regret having spent an extra day in the field, doing the work. To me, this is the goal; to be able to look up towards the sun every day, sore muscles and sweat dripping, and say, "thank you for this day." Metaphorically, I mean. In truth I'm a cave-dwelling grug-minded developer.
- RHSman2 3y ago
  Chapeau!!!! :)
- CrazyPyroLinux 3y ago
  Thank you for leading me to https://grugbrain.dev/ https://grugbrain.dev/

Clubber 3y ago

Your children are your cake.

RHSman2 3y ago
My children’s cake is my cake
civilitty 3y ago
That doesn't seem like a sustainable source of protein.
sanderjd 3y ago
Sometimes! Increasingly so as they get older. But a lot of the time, personally I would say most of the time until they're four years old or so, it's more like plowing, sowing, harvesting, and milling than it is like enjoying a slice of cake.
TeMPOraL 3y ago
That approach means your life ends with your first child; since you'll presumably want your children to believe that line too, then their lives will all lead to and end with their children. All in all, this is just saying, the only meaning of life is to procreate - and reduces humanity back down to level of any other simpler life form. Eat, fuck, die, repeat. It's a belief I find hugely depressing.
- Clubber 3y ago
  People get a lot of gratification in raising children. Something that people without children can't really understand fully. I know I didn't understand it until I had children. You're building (for lack of a better word) something that will outlast you, the original legacy, one that nearly anyone can achieve. If you spend time helping people in need, I mean really spending time and energy, not just donating or virtue signaling, it's similar. An example would be teaching or coaching; being a big brother or adopting a child; being a good aunt or uncle; mentoring even, to a lesser degree, etc. Taking care of and benefiting someone who depends on you doing it really gives a lot of gratification. >reduces humanity back down to level of any other simpler life form. Eat, fuck, die, repeat. It's a little more than that but though humans (most) are civilized and intelligent, we're still a great ape. >It's a belief I find hugely depressing. Why? It's our nature. Jonas Salk is probably the finest human I can think of and he was certainly motivated by all those things.