This morning I came across this social media post from the Hampton Institute:

‘When human beings are treated as commodities, as we are under capitalism, there’s a slow psychological and spiritual death that occurs in all of us. This spiral often turns into despair, rage, and self-destruction. So, we desperately search for meaning and self-value, seek constant escapism, hurt ourselves, and hurt one another.

THIS is the basis of our sick society. And the social degradation will only worsen as long as this dehumanizing system remains on life support.’

This is how I feel. I am constantly trying to adapt to a system that requires me to turn into someone I am not in order for me to make money, feed my family and keep the lights and the heating on.

I try to preserve my humanity as much as possible and to not let money dominate my life’s choices, but it’s a tough and never ending exercise.

This becomes the most acutely clear every time I wish I was spending time with my son instead of doing things I only do because I need the money for us to have some sort of comfortable life.

Plus, I see it all around me. People on their treadmills, trying to escape via distractions and unhealthy habits, not even wondering what exactly they are trying to escape from. Not even realizing that this is what they are doing: trying to get away from the present moment, cause the present moment hurts too much.

There are people who make a living doing what they are passionate about. To a large degree I am one of those people, but it’s a struggle and I pay the price in the form of my time. Yes, I can make a living based on my passion, but it takes up almost all my time.

There is stuff I am passionate about I would like to devote time to without having to feel guilty about it, because it doesn’t lead to money.

What am discovering is that for me the time spent the best way possible is the time I spend with my son and the cost of living often stands in the way of that.

In my opinion we live in a world that disconnects us from the people we love the most, from our own being, from our own passions and from our own heart’s desires.

There are people who manage to jump off the treadmill and thrive and it’s always been my goal to be one of them and to help others jump off too.

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