Outsourcing Life
Compared to the last century, the pace of life is faster, we're busier, and portions of everyday life get delegated to other people.
AM: wake up, get ready for work, buy coffee +/- baked good for breakfast
Work, work, work
Lunch: Buy a quick lunch and scarf it down before you rush back to work
Work, work, work
PM: Drive home and wonder what it is you're going to be eating tonight. By the time you're home you're exhausted and starving and need food NOW! All the big plans in the AM of cooking a nice meal are out the window. Assuming you had time to think and plan out dinner, as you're making the dinner, you're snacking away, and by the time dinner's ready, you're full. So now you have leftovers - yum.
But it's not just food. We "outsource" a bunch of other things - babysitting the kids, washing the car, cleaning the house, mowing the lawn. The busier you are, the more you outsource, until you're left with work, work and more work. It reminds me a interesting phrase - when people are young they trade their health for more money, and when they're old, they use the money to try to buy back their health. Except here the trade is "life" for money, and money to try to buy happiness because of the emptiness left from missing out on life.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying mowing the lawn is one of the irreplaceable pleasures of life. But life happens in the mundance experiences from moment to moment and in those forgettable and unforgettable times you share with people you care about. The meaning you give to life goes beyond what it is you're actually doing. And if you're not even able to be present to take part in those experiences, mundane or not, are you truly living life?
AM: wake up, get ready for work, buy coffee +/- baked good for breakfast
Work, work, work
Lunch: Buy a quick lunch and scarf it down before you rush back to work
Work, work, work
PM: Drive home and wonder what it is you're going to be eating tonight. By the time you're home you're exhausted and starving and need food NOW! All the big plans in the AM of cooking a nice meal are out the window. Assuming you had time to think and plan out dinner, as you're making the dinner, you're snacking away, and by the time dinner's ready, you're full. So now you have leftovers - yum.
But it's not just food. We "outsource" a bunch of other things - babysitting the kids, washing the car, cleaning the house, mowing the lawn. The busier you are, the more you outsource, until you're left with work, work and more work. It reminds me a interesting phrase - when people are young they trade their health for more money, and when they're old, they use the money to try to buy back their health. Except here the trade is "life" for money, and money to try to buy happiness because of the emptiness left from missing out on life.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying mowing the lawn is one of the irreplaceable pleasures of life. But life happens in the mundance experiences from moment to moment and in those forgettable and unforgettable times you share with people you care about. The meaning you give to life goes beyond what it is you're actually doing. And if you're not even able to be present to take part in those experiences, mundane or not, are you truly living life?
posted by Aisling at 7:01 PM PERMALINK
3 Comments:
hi,
I hadn't read your blog in a while... wow, you're writing something really great here - a nice mix of interesting facts, and great reminders of life's lessons. It's nice to have the luxury of reading these things at a younger age. If you'd like a tip, I also happened upon a ton of "xxcity daily photo" blogs. By far the best photography is taken by a guy living in Barcelona. http://barcelonadailyphoto.blogspot.com/ If I remember right my favorites are from 18 February and 28 of February.
Cheers
ps: thanks for the explanation of the codes!
Actually, Americans have 8-10 WEEKS more of leisure time than they had 40 years ago. You'll have to come up with something other than lack of time for feeling rushed and overworked. [Erik Hurst U. of Chicago]
http://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/2006/04/2358-what-are-you-doing-with-your-free.html
Hi Norma,
I've no doubt Professor Hurst is correct. However, he did qualify the increase in leisure time: "The increase is greatest for men with the least education. Some of that may be from involuntary job loss. Highly educated women have gained the least time. For women, all of the increase is from a decline in housework -- less cooking, cleaning, laundry and grocery shopping than 40 years ago."
And unfortunately, or fortunately, those of us in the medical profession, especially those still in the training period, often have schedules that are not the "average" american work week. trainees work about 80 hours a week, and even after training physicans can easily work more than 40 hours.
best,
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