Going down the long roundabout way back to your starting point

An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, “only a little while.”

The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish?

The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs.

The American then asked, “but what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine, and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life.”

The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”

To which the American replied, “15 – 20 years.”

“But what then?” Asked the Mexican.

The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions!”

“Millions—then what?”

The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”

You’ve been reading the four-hour workweek, haven’t you? :slight_smile:

But yeah, I like that story too.

[quote=“finley”]You’ve been reading the four-hour workweek, haven’t you? :slight_smile:

But yeah, I like that story too.[/quote]

Nope, I’ve been reading the zero-hour workweek.

;p

You know, everyone everywhere fusses so much about their money, their relationships and their families.

The Taiwanese… well the entire Asian race actually spent their whole lives practically praying to the Gods for more money, a more beautiful/richer spouse and a better life for their family.

Just go down to the local temples in any Taiwanese city and you would see scores of Taiwanese supplicating on their knees for a better this and a better that…

Does anyone ever realize that they will lose everything in the end?

Or should I say, does anyone dare acknowledge the fact that they will definitely lose their family, their children, their spouses, their careers, their money, even their own lives sooner or later?

It is only a matter of time so why delay the inevitable fate of death and loss? Seriously why?

Shouldn’t we live our lives preparing for our Deaths instead of running away and denying the passage of Time?

I know what you mean. It’s not just in Taiwan, though, is it. Mostly, they’re just copying what they think Americans do so they can get what Americans have (cf. China). Whatever that is.

Although I don’t think we should “prepare for death” as such, nor dwell on the fact. It’s enough to acknowledge that it’s inevitable and that life is a gift to be enjoyed. Eat, drink and be merry, with or without an Oxford comma, for tomorrow we die.

I remember a daft article by Jeremy wossisname off Top Gear in which he was talking about his 40th birthday. According to him and his mates, at that milestone, the “mental screensaver of Jordan’s tits is replaced by one of a bloke with a scythe”, or words to that effect. And you know what? I recently found out that it’s true :astonished:

[quote=“finley”]I know what you mean. It’s not just in Taiwan, though, is it. Mostly, they’re just copying what they think Americans do so they can get what Americans have (cf. China). Whatever that is.

Eat, drink and be merry, with or without an Oxford comma, for tomorrow we die.[/quote]

The Americans do pray but just not as fervently as the Taiwanese/Asians.

Not that I have anything against prayers nor wealth or relationships or families but obsessions, addictions and attachments have never been good for anyone.

Well, I just meant the slaving and saving to get material wealth, and the desire for more Stuffs. The praying-for-fortune thing does seem to be a peculiarly asian invention.

When they die they don’t lose everything … it’s supplied in paper form and multiple times a year your family will send some ghost money … :ohreally: :laughing:

Well, I just meant the slaving and saving to get material wealth, and the desire for more Stuffs. The praying-for-fortune thing does seem to be a peculiarly Asian invention.[/quote]

Well those praying techniques do work.

It is just that whatever they pray for, they will lose it all in the end.

My point is, shouldn’t the Taiwanese/Asians/The Whole World pray for this whole game of human existence to end?

Shouldn’t we pray for something infinite rather than a finite, temporary stuff?

we shouldnt live life in resignation of our deaths. We should know that one day we will die and we should live our lives to the fullest and help others to fulfill their lives as well.

We should treasure our association with our loved ones because one day they will be gone , just like you will be gone. You can only hope your remembrance will be a sweet one as well.

A prime example of this is man hunting woman.

You know, I am a man and I have done my share of the dirty.

We men, we go to bars and clubs, we pick-up, we dine and wine, then we lose our seed in our current target before moving on to the next one.

It is called the Coolidge effect.

A male monkey meets a new female monkey, he shagged her a few times, lose interest in her, meets a new female monkey and begins the same game all over again.

And oh, females apparently possess the Coolidge effect too. Don’t ever tell me that married mothers aren’t ever turned on by hot young studs.

Question is… if we are doomed to separate from another human being, why bother wasting so much time and energy on creating this relationship in the first place?

[quote=“tommy525”]we shouldnt live life in resignation of our deaths. We should know that one day we will die and we should live our lives to the fullest and help others to fulfill their lives as well.

We should treasure our association with our loved ones because one day they will be gone , just like you will be gone. You can only hope your remembrance will be a sweet one as well.[/quote]

When you say treasure, you mean wasting precious time and energy on meaningless activities with human beings who are temporarily considered “loved” in this life-time by your mind?

You know, when I am gone, I couldn’t care two hoots if someone remember me or not? Why would I bother with others’ opinions of me? Especially when I am (long) gone?

[quote=“tommy525”]we shouldnt live life in resignation of our deaths. We should know that one day we will die and we should live our lives to the fullest and help others to fulfill their lives as well.
[/quote]

And let’s consider the saying “living our lives to the fullest” for a second. Which brings me back to the parable in the OP.

The fisherman’s definition of living life to the fullest is “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine, and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life.”

The Harvard MBA’s definition of living life to the fullest is "You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.

That’s the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions.

Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos"

So what’s your definition of living life to the fullest?

Rushing like a mad horse for the next dollar knowing that it is all an empty, temporal game in the end?

Hitting the clubs every night hunting the next target to gift your seed to?

Going to the temples every weekend to pray for the scholarly success of your children/grandchildren?

Yeah, I am describing the Taiwanese lifestyle to a T. ;p

That’s because of this thing called face. It’s f***'n ruining the entire society into thinking that they’ve got to “keep up with the Joneses”.

Indeed…we call it “graduating from life”.

With this 'wan traffic? DEFINITELY!!! :slight_smile:

Staying home and jacking-off all the time is not my cup-a-tea :ohreally:

[quote]
Shouldn’t we live our lives preparing for our Deaths instead of running away and denying the passage of Time?[/quote]

I believe this is what the ‘wan people are doing by 1) buying life insurance even though they barely made enough :loco: and 2) work their asses off until they drop dead…leaving a huge inheritance to their good-4-nuthin’ children who will blow it off on betel nuts and the chicks that come with those nuts.

[quote]When you say treasure, you mean wasting precious time and energy on meaningless activities with human beings who are temporarily considered “loved” in this life-time by your mind?
You know, when I am gone, I couldn’t care two hoots if someone remember me or not? Why would I bother with others’ opinions of me? Especially when I am (long) gone?[/quote]

Crystaleye, I’m confused now. Why did you quote that little anecdote? What did you like about it? Surely, the whole point is that the Mexican guy had (a) chosen what he wanted to do with his life and (b) had found a pretty straightforward way to achieve it. Whether you, or I, or the businessman thinks he’s crazy is irrelevant. He found his personal meaning-of-life.

And why do you imagine dealing with spiritual or ‘eternal’ concerns somehow precludes having an enjoyable life? Why are “activities with human beings who are temporarily considered ‘loved’ in this life-time” a waste of precious time? What would you consider not a waste of time? Anyway, you don’t care for other people so that they’ll remember you. You do it because you want to.

I can’t help thinking, from this and other posts (and this isn’t meant to be some sort of personal slight) that you have some serious issues re. relationships. If you’re a religious person, then everything that’s incredible about this life was created for us and gifted to us, and to turn your back on it all, write it all off as as waste of space, is ungrateful at best. Be thankful for, and avail yourself of, everything the world has to offer. If you’re not, the outcome should be the same - find your own meaning like that Mexican guy and savour it, 'cos there ain’t no hereafter to make up for lost time.

[quote=“finley”][quote]When you say treasure, you mean wasting precious time and energy on meaningless activities with human beings who are temporarily considered “loved” in this life-time by your mind?
You know, when I am gone, I couldn’t care two hoots if someone remember me or not? Why would I bother with others’ opinions of me? Especially when I am (long) gone?[/quote]

Crystaleye, I’m confused now. Why did you quote that little anecdote? What did you like about it? Surely, the whole point is that the Mexican guy had (a) chosen what he wanted to do with his life and (b) had found a pretty straightforward way to achieve it. Whether you, or I, or the businessman thinks he’s crazy is irrelevant. He found his personal meaning-of-life.

And why do you imagine dealing with spiritual or ‘eternal’ concerns somehow precludes having an enjoyable life? Why are “activities with human beings who are temporarily considered ‘loved’ in this life-time” a waste of precious time? What would you consider not a waste of time? Anyway, you don’t care for other people so that they’ll remember you. You do it because you want to.

I can’t help thinking, from this and other posts (and this isn’t meant to be some sort of personal slight) that you have some serious issues re. relationships. If you’re a religious person, then everything that’s incredible about this life was created for us and gifted to us, and to turn your back on it all, write it all off as as waste of space, is ungrateful at best. Be thankful for, and avail yourself of, everything the world has to offer. If you’re not, the outcome should be the same - find your own meaning like that Mexican guy and savour it, 'cos there ain’t no hereafter to make up for lost time.[/quote]

See this is the difference between you and me.

You see everything that life created for us as a gift.

But I see it as a curse.

There is no need for me to make up for lost time as I can’t wait for all my time to be lost.

Sounds like you got some issues there crystaleye. Not feelin the love.

This thread is all speculation.
We don’t know what life is for, why the universe exists, why we are all floating around on a vulnerable bubble in a vast expanse of what appears to be nothingness, with different kinds of animals and plants which all seem to exist to benefit each other in some way. This bubble is the correct distance from a star which has just the right stable energy output to enable it to harbour life, and by some remarkable coincidence, it has a moon at exactly the correct mass and revolutions around the earth which jump-started or accelerated life on earth.
It is human nature to try to justify existence, but the fact is we may never know the answer.

I often think about the reasons for life and have drawn far-fetched conclusions ranging from the possibility that we don’t exist at all, to the possibility that only I exist in a world of my own creating and everyone and everything else is in fact just part of a sequence of untrue events. Non of the theories I have developed are as far fetched as the creation of life and the universe itself, though.

Last year I was fortunate enough to have a near death experience. It was the most weird, wonderful, most terrifying experience I have ever had. Of course, I had absolutely no idea what I was going through at the time because all concepts of being a human, or being alive, fell away. There was no time and no space and no feeling, but when I returned from my short trip, I felt an overwhelming sense of isolation and a feeling that when you pass that line, you’re on your own.
Luckily, I didn’t go much further beyond that line, so I don’t know what happens next. Maybe nothing happens next. Maybe you re-spawn into a something else. The point is, based on the unlikeliness of the existence of life, there are infinite possibilities, and only one of those possibilities is to not exist.
I’m not religious at all - not in the least bit, but I think our understanding of life and the universe is confined by our limited view from within our 3 dimensional environment.
But in case I am wrong, I’ll do my best to enjoy what I have now.

good grief, and I read the whole post…

Hans, that’s fascinating. Care to elaborate on the NDE, or is it something you’d rather keep private?

crystaleye, please get some help. I’m not taking the piss, really. Ultimately it’s your own decision to treat life as a blessing or a curse, but it seems to me you’ve had something happen to you that makes it seem like the latter. I’d agree with Hans - we can never know for certain what happens outside the confines of our own restricted little universe, and whether or not you have faith in a deity or an afterlife makes no difference: enjoy what you’ve got, on face value, because there’s no good reason not to.

Wow, so much of what you say reminds me of the super deep philosophies I had when I was profoundly depressed. Not sure if you fit this description, but I thought that I saw “reality” more clearly than all the simple, optimistic fools around me.
Then I took a more pragmatic view of life and decided to believe whatever made me happy :smiley: and happy I am.
Which is funny, because you seem to put forth the premise that people are being frivolous because they are wasting time and energy on temporary things. And yet, I’m willing to guess that your current mindset is temporary, so why waste time and energy on all the negativity? Why not use your precious time doing something that makes you happy? It might not be praying in a temple, having a family, or “gifting your seed” as you so eloquently put it, but I hope there’s something out there that you enjoy.

“Not that I have anything against prayers nor wealth or relationships or families but obsessions, addictions and attachments have never been good for anyone.”
Really? What about the first human who made fire? Have you ever made fire without the aid of a lighter or a match? It’s fucking hard. I’m going to bet the first human who did that had an obsession. They had an addiction to try until they succeeded.
What about the computer you’re typing on? Do you like it? Do you think that technology was developed without a healthy dose of obsession?
What about yo mama? You think she would have done all those midnight feedings, wiped your butt, kept you alive, if not for attachment?
I love obsessions addictions and attachment. They’re what make life worth living and what get stuff done.

“When you say treasure, you mean wasting precious time and energy on meaningless activities with human beings who are temporarily considered “loved” in this life-time by your mind?”
Love is fun. Giving is fun. It feels fucking great! Why not use my time to do something that feels great?
“You know, when I am gone, I couldn’t care two hoots if someone remember me or not? Why would I bother with others’ opinions of me? Especially when I am (long) gone?”
Are “temporary” and “worthless” synonymous in your mind? You’re not gone yet. Enjoy yourself while you exist.