The "fog of work"

[TromboneAl]

Don, you drew that eye?

 

[donheff]

Don, you drew that eye?

Yeah. I was learning Painter software and that was an exercise. It is freehand. You use a stylus and pad instead of a mouse. Here is a thumbnail of a self portrait I did later using a photograph as a model. I am not sure I could do that again without a lot of practice and review of the software (also, I cheated a bit on this one by sketching the basic form out as a trace and by sampling colors from the photo with the eyedropper tool). The eye was completely freehand. I need to try bikes if I ever get back to it.

Here are my eyes in a mirror (pencil sketch freehand) when I was reading Right Side of the Brain. It is the little dashes of white in this one and the Painter eye that make the eyes come to life. If I can do this in a brief time, anyone can:

 

[TromboneAl]

Very impressive. I ordered the book from the library. Like you, I'll often work on drawing for a month or so here and there. My mom was an artist. I should resist -- too many hobbies already.

Sorry about the Hijack, Nords!

 

[Meadbh]

Excellent posts, Nords & Freebird.

Roll up, roll up, get your metaphysics here. Wow, this Forum is great value for money!

I have always realized the need to "be" from time to time. It's a spiritual experience. For me, it usually happens when I am in a beautiful place, usually near water. There is something about the waves on a beach, or the tranquility of a calm lake, that allows me to feel renewed and serene about my place in the world. Another such experience I had when looking over a misty valley in south west France, late at night. When I'm in ''the zone" I feel profoundly happy. It has nothing to do with achievements or finance, just a feeling of intense calm; if I died tomorrow, my life would have been worthwhile.

 

[Moemg]

Great post Nords , It really hit home. I spent so many years just rushing through life that now it is nice to just savor it .

 

[freebird5825]

No problem-- learn to surf. Longboard, shortboard, paddle, tandem, tow-in, kite, wind... whatever you can get.

Nords - um...you mean surfing here doesn't count?
So find me an ocean in Central NY and that's a deal!
Actually, kite flying is one of my fun things to do, along with sandcastle building and spring snow sculpture when the snow melts a little. I have some creativity buried in the ol' brain. I can sculpt a mean "snow bunny" with soft wet snow and a elongated sharp edged stone I saved just for this reason. Using it makes me feel very prehistoric.
Khan - there is hope. I have 2 compost tumblers. They will be perfect for this year's garden. Another source of time to simply "be"...a human veggie amongst the chlorophyll making type of veggies. Now if I could just stop planting my seeds in perfect rows...
All - I writing a lot of this "help me!" stuff with tongue firmly in cheek. Little by little, I am learning to simply "be".

 

[Alan]

Good post Noords - very thought provoking.

In recent years DW and I have had some vacations in england without kids and I've taken her on long walks along the cliffs and into the countryside where I grew up and where my Dad and sister still live. I've shown her various spots where, as kids, we would simply lie back and look out over fields or the sea, chew on grass, make daisy chains, watch the sky larks etc and just "be". I hadn't realized quite how far we used to roam - up to 5 miles one way. In my last 3 years at High School I had a lot of stress, trying to study for very important exams at 16 and 18 to get into university during a long period of illness with my mother who very nearly died in child birth when I was 16 and then again nearly died from cancer 2 years later, each time spending many weeks in hospital in the spring semester. Being the eldest I had to look after the house and rest of the family.

I used to find downtime by walking the cliffs and just sitting there trying to clear my mind.

Some years later during some very stressful times while we had 2 young children and work and other things were very tough I would de-stress by climbing the hills just outside our home and sit down looking out over the Yorkshire moors and just clear my head.

Reading your post and the responses in this thread makes me realize that I have lost this ability and the last 10 years in particular have needed such meditative techniques.

I look forward now to 're-discovering' myself....

 

[Meadbh]

William Wordsworth seems apropos here....

I WANDERED lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.​

 

[Amethyst]

Yeah, but have you ever tried to plant 300 daffodil bulbs? In hard pan clay?? It ain't a metaphysical experience, let me and my achin' back tell ya!

(Worth, it, though, since daffodils are about the only pretty flower that deer will leave alone).

Amethyst

 

[Amethyst]

P.S. Donheff, if that's really what you look like, I hope you know you're hot

 

[brewer12345]

Yeah, but have you ever tried to plant 300 daffodil bulbs? In hard pan clay?? It ain't a metaphysical experience, let me and my achin' back tell ya!

(Worth, it, though, since daffodils are about the only pretty flower that deer will leave alone).

Amethyst

I bet deadly nightshade would be allowed to bloom, eventually.

 

[donheff]

P.S. Donheff, if that's really what you look like, I hope you know you're hot

I may have chiseled the cheekbones a bit ;-) and it is probably about 8 years old.

 

[Boxkicker]

Nords....You hit it right on the head!

Having dealt with the military mentality and the "fog's of war", I know I am not really interested in the "fog's of work"!

Mahalo!

 

[Nords]

The problem was that it entailed way more hours than any normal person would want to put in and way too much stress.

From other comments you've made it also seems that your co-workers and supervisors felt that misery loved company, and they wanted as much company as you could give them... even if you should've been taking a sick day or enjoying lunch or telecommuting.

Most likely, this will be a path I will never be able to take (for good or bad).
I am a similar type to Brewer, I tend to constantly plan things out, slowly adjusting the plan over time, at any given point, my whole life is planned out, at least vaguely. I am in my mid 20's, and have been well aware that work sucks since the first time I had to pick up a broom and sweep the leaves when I was six. Work occurs for me in bursts, for a particular purpose in an overall plan. Here is my mentality on work:
Life is spent thinking about many different things at once, that is, if it is not being spent being, enjoying the activities one loves to do best, or finding ways to enjoy being even more.

Life lasts a long time; don't sell yourself short.

I'm similar to you guys, but in ER (and especially after reading Betty Edwards & Stroke of Insight) I can appreciate right-brained creativity & its contributions even more.

The difference between us is that I didn't become aware of much of this until after I'd ER'd. You've just been made aware of it much sooner in your life than I was in mine, and you have a chance to decide whether it's worth incorporating into your life now (which may give you an edge over all the other hyperplanners) or later (when you also have ER time).

Excellent OP post, Nords. Sorry to hijack, but your mention of Betty Edwards book caught my attention. I could barely draw stick figures when I read Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. I didn't become an artist but I learned that I could learn to draw much better and more easily than I had anticpipated. Get the book.

I've read both editions of the book, although the first ed sat on my reading table for literally about five years. Then I chased down her "Color" and her exercise book as well. I found that "Color" is an absolutely fascinating read into a subject that I only formerly appreciated for its chemistry-- and now I enjoy looking at the world with an entirely new eye. Never had to worry about any of that stuff when I was shooting torpedos.

The heck with lists of things to do in ER. I have a growing list of things I want to try someday after I get tired of all the things I'm currently doing in ER. I haven't even tried standup paddlesurfing yet, let alone kitesurfing. Drawing, color, computer art, and decades of old action movies will still be there when I'm much less mobile.

Nords - um...you mean surfing here doesn't count?
So find me an ocean in Central NY and that's a deal!

No, it counts, you just need to go a few more miles west:

YouTube - Surf - Lake Ontario

And Martha can get you a reciprocal membership in the Great Lakes Surfing Club...

 

[Khan]

Nords - um...you mean surfing here doesn't count?
So find me an ocean in Central NY and that's a deal!
Actually, kite flying is one of my fun things to do, along with sandcastle building and spring snow sculpture when the snow melts a little. I have some creativity buried in the ol' brain. I can sculpt a mean "snow bunny" with soft wet snow and a elongated sharp edged stone I saved just for this reason. Using it makes me feel very prehistoric.
Khan - there is hope. I have 2 compost tumblers. They will be perfect for this year's garden. Another source of time to simply "be"...a human veggie amongst the chlorophyll making type of veggies. Now if I could just stop planting my seeds in perfect rows...
All - I writing a lot of this "help me!" stuff with tongue firmly in cheek. Little by little, I am learning to simply "be".

The Official Site of Square Foot Gardening and Mel Bartholomew, Originator and Author

Ruth Stout' s System

Worms Eat My Garbage by Mary Appelhof - Chelsea Green

 

[Khan]

Good post Noords - very thought provoking.

In recent years DW and I have had some vacations in england without kids and I've taken her on long walks along the cliffs and into the countryside where I grew up and where my Dad and sister still live. I've shown her various spots where, as kids, we would simply lie back and look out over fields or the sea, chew on grass, make daisy chains, watch the sky larks etc and just "be". I hadn't realized quite how far we used to roam - up to 5 miles one way. In my last 3 years at High School I had a lot of stress, trying to study for very important exams at 16 and 18 to get into university during a long period of illness with my mother who very nearly died in child birth when I was 16 and then again nearly died from cancer 2 years later, each time spending many weeks in hospital in the spring semester. Being the eldest I had to look after the house and rest of the family.

I used to find downtime by walking the cliffs and just sitting there trying to clear my mind.

Some years later during some very stressful times while we had 2 young children and work and other things were very tough I would de-stress by climbing the hills just outside our home and sit down looking out over the Yorkshire moors and just clear my head.

Reading your post and the responses in this thread makes me realize that I have lost this ability and the last 10 years in particular have needed such meditative techniques.

I look forward now to 're-discovering' myself....

I recall when I was a child I spent summers on my grandparents' farm in Maine, and walked down to the cove (on a calm sunny day) and watch the tide come in over the granite boulders.

I have regained much of that ability to 'just be' since retirement.

 

[Khan]

Somewhat related:

Digital Overload Is Frying Our Brains | Wired Science from Wired.com

The other important thing is to discuss interruption as an environmental question and collective social issue. In our country, stillness and reflection are not especially valued in the workplace. The image of success is the frenetic multitasker who doesn't have time and is constantly interrupted. By striving towards this model of inattention, we're doing ourselves a tremendous injustice.

 

[leftbucket]

for the love of the game

Nords, et al-

First of all, Nords, you're my idol. I hope to also retire at 41
and I've never regretted a day I spent surfing...

Your post was most thought provoking.

Anyway, this might sound like heresy on this board, but
what about work as a necessary and fulfilling part of being?

I've heard you say words to the effect that growing up, all
you wanted to be was a Navy submariner. Wouldn't you say
that achieving that goal was a helpful for your self-
actualization? Was all that time you spent doing a job you
were passionate about just a "fog"?

Thanks for your post,
LB

 

[Khan]

Nords, et al-

First of all, Nords, you're my idol. I hope to also retire at 41
and I've never regretted a day I spent surfing...

Your post was most thought provoking.

Anyway, this might sound like heresy on this board, but
what about work as a necessary and fulfilling part of being?

I've heard you say words to the effect that growing up, all
you wanted to be was a Navy submariner. Wouldn't you say
that achieving that goal was a helpful for your self-
actualization? Was all that time you spent doing a job you
were passionate about just a "fog"?

Thanks for your post,
LB

I only speak for myself: some things get old after 20, 30 years.

 

[Alan]

I only speak for myself: some things get old after 20, 30 years.

I have to say that I enjoyed my first 10 - 20 years work. Beyond that the ever increasing need to do more with less, pressures on profits, lay-offs, cut-backs, having to tell very capable people that they no longer have a place in the company, ever increasing business travel .... it all just wore me down so that I will be happy to leave it all behind soon with enough income/assets to enjoy life without the millstone of a job I need hanging around my neck.

 

[theloneranger]

[ My challenge is to learn something for the joy of it, not the mastery of it. See my dilemma?


Have you mastered golf or fly fishing?

 

[ziggy29]

I have to say that I enjoyed my first 10 - 20 years work. Beyond that the ever increasing need to do more with less, pressures on profits, lay-offs, cut-backs, having to tell very capable people that they no longer have a place in the company, ever increasing business travel .... it all just wore me down so that I will be happy to leave it all behind soon with enough income/assets to enjoy life without the millstone of a job I need hanging around my neck.

Yep, these are the things that turn your "occupation" or "what you do" into "w*rk." Even if one truly enjoys performing the activity they were (presumably) hired to do, by the time you add in the usual dose of corporate BS (or bureaucratic BS for our military folks), the overall experience gets older and older with time.

I'm sick of living under the threat of layoffs, of being expected to do more with less after each downsizing (or offshoring of jobs), all that garbage that makes one feel, well, practically chained to their jobs and dependent on their employers. What a crappy feeling that is -- basically "abandon all hope ye who enter this place." Like Brewer, I pretty much knew by my mid-20s that the corporate world sucked. Since we managed to buy our first house (12 years ago in California), my overarching, remaining financial goal was to get the hell out of financial dependence on an employer.

Great thread.

 

[RonBoyd]

During my career-life in management, I always described the "burn outs" as having "one year of experience and 19 years of repetition." If you don't, or are not allowed to, "grow," then weariness is the natural result. I have noticed that those that go to work each day seeking something "new" never want to "retire." If you are unhappy with your present circumstances, then you owe it to yourself to seek change -- the longer you put it off the more difficult it becomes. (I don't need to point out that FIRE is one of the more attractive choices, do I?)

 

[Lusitan]

Wonderful, thought-provoking post, for a guy sitting at his desk in the midst of a Monday morning "fog of work" - thanks Nords!

 

[freebird5825]

No, it counts, you just need to go a few more miles west:
And Martha can get you a reciprocal membership in the Great Lakes Surfing Club...

That was great!
The shots of Niagara Falls got me a little worried though..
Those were actually pretty tame waves for Lake Ontario. She is capable of so much more.
I went there a few years ago on a late winter day and had trouble walking in the strong wind gusts. The waves were magnificent, viewed from shore of course. I wish I had recorded it.