I know of two different books, where hundreds of western people were interviewed on their death bed. Almost nobody wished they had made more money. Most wish they had worked less, and spent more time with friends and family.
Personally, I am doing alright for myself financially, but it is not really what makes me happy at the end of the day.
That's the key to happiness. Spending more time with friends and family, laughing and living life. Being able to live through the experiences that truly make us feel human, the good and bad. But to be stuck slaving away at any job is a poor excuse at living life. It's essentially the equivalent of living for the "weekend". I kill myself Monday through Friday, but it's ok, because here comes the weekend where I'll trick myself into believing that these small doses of free time are a window to what happiness might feel like if I were not confined by the demands of work. Then we have small periods of time we accumulate (say a week or two) where we go away on a holiday (vacation) and then think we are truly getting a taste of what "living" is. On the contrary, you're just appeasing your mind into the harsh reality that when you get back from vacation, you better be ready to get back to your own workplace slavery, along with the fake personality we adopt and need to pretend to like the people we work alongside with.
It's truly a mindfuck if you stop to think about it. Also, I have always loved playing chess with older people. In New York City, I would always go and play chess at one of our local parks (Washington Square Park) while growing up as a teenager. I would get annihilated, because those guys were masterful, but it wasn't so much the game that I loved versus the insightful conversations. You can learn so much from those that have already lived over 60 years on this earth. Their view on what matters versus not makes you appreciate that just maybe, they have been right all along. None of the shit we found valuable while young matters as much as we get older, with the exception of those we love and care for. Those older folks always told me "don't waste your youth chasing vanity and superficial objects to garner approval from others, just do what makes you happy". While young, I never gave that as much meaning as I do now.
Now, as I am older, I love just talking to random people about their lives. Honestly, it gives me the ability to at least visualize other realities that are different than mine. Brings me a sense of happiness. Crazy thing is, some of the homeless people I've met throughout my lifetime have had the best stories ever.
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