This is a small poetry club that started as a poetry email exchange between two friends. Our goal is to read a poem everyday, and this blog is one way to help keep us accountable. There is only one valid rule in poetry club: there are no rules in poetry club. Read any poem, in any order, with any or no interactions. You decide. We only suggest you read poetry!
6 Nov: "I am losing precious days" by John Muir
“I am losing precious days. I am degenerating into a machine for making money. I am learning nothing in this trivial world of men. I must break away and get out into the mountains to learn the news.”
Balance of capitalistic society...a change I have been wanting to make. Spend less, work less, live more. We don't need all of the things we think we need to thrive. We just need a few...more adventure, more poetry, more journal entries and experiences. The best are usually free...unless you buy a plane ticket to get to the "free". How do we plan for our future and live now, too? Self employment has added on self retirement, self health insurance, etc. Which adds on more cost for the price of freedom. The last few years I have been living by excess...earn X= 1/3x living, 1/3x student loan repayment, 1/3x retirement/travel. What about you?
Last ten years: 1/3 living, 2/3 traveling, 0/3 retirement. Teaching has retirement if I stick it out. I'm not worried about retirement. I could easily live off a minimum wage job.
Freedom vs security: I like freedom. I'm more bound to society by a desire to contribute to a better world. I question that more and more as the teaching profession overwhelms me and steals all my energy to do the things I love. I can really relate to Muir. I think about a cabin in cycling distance to a public library all the time. To live outdoors and off the land really appeals to how I want to live. But it seems selfish too. Another part of me doesn't want to live with regrets. Until something changes, I'll have to balance traveling, teaching, and living sustainably.
Jermey called me out a while back for claiming to want/like socialism but not giving my money to other people. It's a false equivalence, but that is another thing I balance. I don't give money to people, I'd donate to non-profits more if I trusted organizations. It takes research to really know how all these organizations use your donations. Instead I try to be socially aware of the companies I purchase goods from, of course I'm not very good at doing the research, but it takes time that I'd rather spend reading a book or poetry, hiking, writing, not to mention work and house work.
Balance of capitalistic society...a change I have been wanting to make. Spend less, work less, live more. We don't need all of the things we think we need to thrive. We just need a few...more adventure, more poetry, more journal entries and experiences. The best are usually free...unless you buy a plane ticket to get to the "free". How do we plan for our future and live now, too? Self employment has added on self retirement, self health insurance, etc. Which adds on more cost for the price of freedom. The last few years I have been living by excess...earn X= 1/3x living, 1/3x student loan repayment, 1/3x retirement/travel. What about you?
ReplyDeleteLast ten years: 1/3 living, 2/3 traveling, 0/3 retirement. Teaching has retirement if I stick it out. I'm not worried about retirement. I could easily live off a minimum wage job.
ReplyDeleteFreedom vs security: I like freedom. I'm more bound to society by a desire to contribute to a better world. I question that more and more as the teaching profession overwhelms me and steals all my energy to do the things I love. I can really relate to Muir. I think about a cabin in cycling distance to a public library all the time. To live outdoors and off the land really appeals to how I want to live. But it seems selfish too. Another part of me doesn't want to live with regrets. Until something changes, I'll have to balance traveling, teaching, and living sustainably.
Jermey called me out a while back for claiming to want/like socialism but not giving my money to other people. It's a false equivalence, but that is another thing I balance. I don't give money to people, I'd donate to non-profits more if I trusted organizations. It takes research to really know how all these organizations use your donations. Instead I try to be socially aware of the companies I purchase goods from, of course I'm not very good at doing the research, but it takes time that I'd rather spend reading a book or poetry, hiking, writing, not to mention work and house work.