I just read a Wendell Berry quote yesterday about how we live in a culture that leans towards exploitation rather than caring. So when I read what you wrote about how our current society values thinking more than caring it really stood out. Even though doctors are paid well and they are technically in a "caring" profession, doctors today don't really nurture and care for people as much as push people through the system. Our current health system makes it very uncomfortable for actually caring people to last long. I have never connected that to the fact that it points to how we don't value care in our society: once something breaks we throw it out; we try to get as much as we can from land and then leave it when it's desertified; we manufacture things knowing they won't last and we actually make things that are not designed to be fixed.
As a farmer, I have been noticing how I am not incentivized to tend and care for my garden because that takes more time and time is money, so I am incentivized to try to cut corners in order to make more money. Farming isn't the most lucrative business, so I feel a pressure to try to make the most money I can so that I have enough money. It is interesting how we pay people a lot of money to do online jobs, office type of work, to be managers of projects and plans but then don't want to pay much money for food and clothing. You would think we would want our farmers to make enough money and be successful since they feed us.
Anyway, your article is definitely food for thought haha.
"Most people I know are exhausted by thinking. But they actually afraid of getting off the treadmill, because, when they do, they encounter the difficult sensations they’ve been tamping down while staying in their heads."
Well described. And facing the difficult sensations is a decision I always find worth it. Coming out of being a "brain on a stick" has made me feel alive again.
Feb 24, 2023·edited Feb 24, 2023Liked by Douglas Tsoi
Thank you for this insightful post!
What is Wealth?
THAT IS THE QUESTION WE ARE ALL TRYING TO ANSWER....and trying to answer in our unique way that applies to our unique situation.
Very much appreciate you sharing how wealth is more than money, but rather a balance of a number of components: physical, financial, mental-emotional, spiritual, social health.
I just read a Wendell Berry quote yesterday about how we live in a culture that leans towards exploitation rather than caring. So when I read what you wrote about how our current society values thinking more than caring it really stood out. Even though doctors are paid well and they are technically in a "caring" profession, doctors today don't really nurture and care for people as much as push people through the system. Our current health system makes it very uncomfortable for actually caring people to last long. I have never connected that to the fact that it points to how we don't value care in our society: once something breaks we throw it out; we try to get as much as we can from land and then leave it when it's desertified; we manufacture things knowing they won't last and we actually make things that are not designed to be fixed.
As a farmer, I have been noticing how I am not incentivized to tend and care for my garden because that takes more time and time is money, so I am incentivized to try to cut corners in order to make more money. Farming isn't the most lucrative business, so I feel a pressure to try to make the most money I can so that I have enough money. It is interesting how we pay people a lot of money to do online jobs, office type of work, to be managers of projects and plans but then don't want to pay much money for food and clothing. You would think we would want our farmers to make enough money and be successful since they feed us.
Anyway, your article is definitely food for thought haha.
"Most people I know are exhausted by thinking. But they actually afraid of getting off the treadmill, because, when they do, they encounter the difficult sensations they’ve been tamping down while staying in their heads."
Well described. And facing the difficult sensations is a decision I always find worth it. Coming out of being a "brain on a stick" has made me feel alive again.
Thank you for this insightful post!
What is Wealth?
THAT IS THE QUESTION WE ARE ALL TRYING TO ANSWER....and trying to answer in our unique way that applies to our unique situation.
Very much appreciate you sharing how wealth is more than money, but rather a balance of a number of components: physical, financial, mental-emotional, spiritual, social health.