What do you do fora living [WARNING: Numbers included]

I'm an English teacher and freelance translator (my language pair is English and Brazilian Portuguese).

I still haven't had a full year working on both those professions (though I've had 9 full years as an English teacher). Last year I returned to Brazil in May from an exchange program I was doing in the US. From May until December I made around R$23,000 (that's Brazilian currency) working as a teacher and translator. That's around $6,200. Our currency has a very low value at the moment due to the current political (and consequently economical) crisis. Fortunately, this year I've been getting a considerably higher volume of translation work to do so I expect things to improve.

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morbo wrote:

E:

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Boem wrote:

But as far as logic goes for me on that philosophical front, my family has money enough to sustain me.

That's great if you can sustain exclusively from your (family's) wealth. But in case of any governmental assistance, the question then becomes: "why should that other human be taxed more, to pay for me".

If people would ask this question more, instead of the usual "I'm poor, give me stuff", then we would have better societies everywhere (not just in northern Europe ;)). Something along the lines: ask what you can do for your country, not what your country can do for you (isn't it funny that a democrat said these words?)

There is a perfectly perverse social system in place where i live.

But i can't justify taking any money from it personally, which again is purely egoistically motivated since i enjoy looking into mirrors.

So to be clear, i could take government assistance in my position as an unemployed etc, but i don't because it doesn't align with my personal moral codes.

Again what your describing though is shifting responsibility away from the person in question, which seems to be the norm in todays day and age.
Which isn't surprising given how money does exactly that, form bridges mentally and physically between actions and consequences and society is build around this notion.

Peace,

-Boem-

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鬼殺し wrote:

Thats another interesting point. If I financially don't have to work, would me working take that place from another who needs to? I don't think we're quite at that level of dearth in terms of employment here in Australia but perhaps in some parts of the world it's a possibility.

It's not nearly as interesting as you make it out to be, it's just a self-serving excuse of my 14 year old self to look himself into a mirror.

Maybe legit or not, like i said, haven't heard a reasonable counter-argument to it so far.

All i heard so far was "but what about your potential, what a waste" since i'm considered quite intelligent by the people around me.
Which sounds to me like a cheap excuse to not have to come up with a real counter-argument.

Peace,

-Boem-

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Boem wrote:

Maybe legit or not, like i said, haven't heard a reasonable counter-argument to it so far.

What about finding a higher purpose in life? I mean, since you have all the time in the world, you could learn & practice almost anything you want (doesn't need to be for profit, but could easily achieve that too). Learn to code and create PoE killer ARPG, or study philosophy and start writing books, or become a Shaolin monk, join the French foreign legion...

I'm sure you realize that many people would kill to be in your position, right? Maybe someone should kick you in the arse and get you moving... ;D

WELL, SIR, I STEP IN FRONT OF CARS AND SUE THE DRIVERS.

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morbo wrote:

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Boem wrote:

Maybe legit or not, like i said, haven't heard a reasonable counter-argument to it so far.

What about finding a higher purpose in life? I mean, since you have all the time in the world, you could learn & practice almost anything you want (doesn't need to be for profit, but could easily achieve that too). Learn to code and create PoE killer ARPG, or study philosophy and start writing books, or become a Shaolin monk, join the French foreign legion...

I'm sure you realize that many people would kill to be in your position, right? Maybe someone should kick you in the arse and get you moving... ;D

The highest purpose in life is living and i achieve that splendidly.

I read, play games, follow philosophy classes, content myself with family affairs and provide assistance/opinions when requested.

And to the people that wanna be in my position i simply say "do it". Don't think for a moment i didn't combat adversity because of my way of living and morals.
My parents feed me and provide me with shelter, nothing else, and if that falls away i will continue living the way i do probably wandering about.
Having the food and shelter is simply pragmatic for me but not a pre-requisite for my lifestyle.

And you basically made my point morbo, you just veiled the "but what about your potential" in other words.

I would argue, me being me, is my highest potential even if it benefits nobody.

Peace,

-Boem-

I'm an online influencer for Mossad! Great job!

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Boem wrote:

I would argue, me being me, is my highest potential even if it benefits nobody.

As long as people are not a burden to others and are happy with themselves, I cannot judge them negatively.

It's a matter of philosophy and interpretation. Personally I think most people need to be working toward some goal to feel fulfilled in life and the goal has to be "bigger than themselves". Even if they never reach it (could be impossible to achieve or too abstract), having direction is important.

But why bother? - Because you can.
But why me? - Because no one else will.

btw, if I could borrow a year of extra time away from various obligations, I'd go living into the woods in a primal way. Hunt, fish, plant crops, build a shelter with basic tools only... But modern civilization allows me to produce so much more in that year, if I stay plugged into the Matrix instead of playing at Robinson Crusoe.

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morbo wrote:

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Boem wrote:

I would argue, me being me, is my highest potential even if it benefits nobody.

As long as people are not a burden to others and are happy with themselves, I cannot judge them negatively.

It's a matter of philosophy and interpretation. Personally I think most people need to be working toward some goal to feel fulfilled in life and the goal has to be "bigger than themselves". Even if they never reach it (could be impossible to achieve or too abstract), having direction is important.

But why bother? - Because you can.
But why me? - Because no one else will.

btw, if I could borrow a year of extra time away from various obligations, I'd go living into the woods in a primal way. Hunt, fish, plant crops, build a shelter with basic tools only... But modern civilization allows me to produce so much more in that year, if I stay plugged into the Matrix instead of playing at Robinson Crusoe.

The direction is easy, staying alive being grateful for every day.

Any more and you are implicitly burdening others because a scope past todays events requires cooperation.
And a desire today becomes a burden tomorrow, that is to say, i never trained my brain to want things so it doesn't jump from one expectation or desire to the next.

I enjoy the good things in life without ever taking them for granted which is why i probably look like the happiest person alive every single day while eating a piece of white bread.

Not once have i thought i deserved that piece of bread or that it will come again tomorrow, which makes happiness incredibly easy to appear out of the smallest things.

Now why would i wanna enter a treadmill that looks mildly absurd to me in order to change my perception of things and train my brain to hop from one station to the next in life else happiness is presumed out of reach.
That seems inefficient compared to my experience.

Time is the highest currency in life, why would i waste it pushing levers for conditioned happiness when i can achieve the same results without the lunacy of an ever increasing standard to achieve that happiness.

"Because you can"
"Because no on else will"

That's exactly what i am doing as far as i see around me. As far as i am concerned i'm the odd one out doing exactly what nobody else is doing.

Peace,

-Boem-