Once for 2 years then I returned to work to save more money, and again now, and I've been unemployed for around 4 years.
I don't really define what I'm currently doing. So I just use the terms, unemployed, retired, semi retired, sabbatical, etc... I just use whatever words that help to describe the situation depending on who I talk to and what I expect their reactions to be. Cos I really can't be bothered to explain too much.
Anyway... The thing is, I believe everyone should take a year off in their lives with no work and maybe do almost nothing. Not travel, not learn some new skill, basically, almost doing nothing...
The thing about it is... Perspective.
You see, as humans, we always tend to think about what's next, tend to think about keeping ourselves busy. There's always something to do.
And doing nothing... gives a perspective.
That there really is nothing to do.
Everything is an illusion that we build around ourselves.
The sun will rise again tomorrow. The world will keep turning.
And most of the time, we will be alive again tomorrow. What humans need is basically food to survive.
Shelter, clothes, insurance, etc... are pretty much secondary.
A lot of times, we build our lives and expectations and feel the expectations of others and society and all that... and we think that everything is such a big deal if we "lose it all"...
But in reality...
We just need air, water and food.
Then we start building our world around it...
Shelter, medical, clothes, family, society, stuff, more stuff, etc... all these are secondary. Some stuff are more important as secondary aspects, like shelter, clothes, medical, and other stuff not so important.
The thing is, when I left my job the first time, with quite a lot of savings, enough to get by for years but not really enough to retire... well, I quickly learnt that... there's so much illusions around us. The idea of jobs, societal expectations, parents expectations, the amount of money we really need to live, etc...
You see, we built this world, this illusion around us.
It is nothing, yet it is our everything.
If we let go of everything, it's just air, food and water.
When I think or read about people who commit suicide...
I wonder... why?
Depression? Why?
I ask myself... why? why? why?
Cos everything is our own doing.
Robin Williams, Kate Spade, Anthony Bourdain... Why?
They killed themselves over an illusion.
They were free to do whatever they wanted.
YOU are free to do pretty much whatever you want.
They could have just dropped everything. Disappeared to the middle of China and lived a quiet life without any communication with the outside world. Life would just go on.
Or when kids kill themselves over poor school results... I also ask why...
Cos... life goes on. The parents may scold them, but... life goes on, even if they don't study and just play all day, what is the parent going to do? Most likely just nag and scold, but life goes on.
But somehow, we, as humans, build illusions about expectations, we feel good when we fulfill other people's expectations, the kids WANT to live up to the expectations of their parents, etc...
And yet, this is... just an illusion, expectations is not tangible. It's just a mental thing. Just in the mind of the kid...
Tom Hanks was stranded on an island. That's IT... There's nothing there. Life goes on.
The world will keep turning, other people will continue to live their lives and move on. Life goes on for them also.
And as a stranded individual, he also learnt to live and survive.
Who cares about all the parcels which weren't delivered in the show? Cos he opened them all to find items he could potentially use to help himself survive.
By right, he isn't supposed to open the packages cos they aren't his... but... that's an illusion in the "real" world right? Cos now, in his "new" world, such rules don't exist. He needs to open the packages to increase his chances of survival.
And all these, I experienced when I left my job...
There is nothing in life. And I don't mean that in a bad way.
I mean it in a good way, that... life is what you build of it.
More often than not, a lot of things, are no big deal. Life goes on.
If you aren't happy with something in life, then... it's up to you to do something about it.
A lot of times, people think that money will solve the problem, so they just keep working, but actually the solution isn't money.
Now... of course, everything has a cost to it. Doesn't mean everything is free. You can do whatever you want with your life, but there's a cost to it.
For example if a kid is too stressed at school, can just choose to not study, take 1 month break, the parents WILL scold or nag the kid, results MAY suffer... BUT... life goes on. It's better for the kid to be mentally healthy and happy than to contemplate suicide.
Same for adults in real life situations. Maybe you feel trapped by your work, your debts, societal expectations.
You can always leave... walk away... but you'll lose your old life. You'll lose friends.
BUT remember... THIS old life IS the life that you aren't happy with. This is the life that you feel trapped in.
Walking away and starting again may be the best solution.
Or IF I'm unhappy in Paris, I could just pick up my passport and fly back to SG without my wife.
There will be consequences, but the thing is... there are always choices.
So the thing is... life is really what YOU YOURSELF make out of it.
There's really nothing there.
Since most of the things in our lives is an illusion, might as well make it an illusion that we enjoy.
Build the things which we like. When you're inside your current illusion, it's hard to see out of it. It's like the Matrix. And even if you understand it, I believe you won't fully appreciate it.
And for me, I really believe that people should just drop and go away for 6 months or a year...
And then, with the right mindset, they will understand that nothingness is really liberating.
<<PREVIOUS POST // NEXT POST>>
Did you like this post? If so, could you "blanjah" me 1/4 cup of my morning coffee pls.
You may also consider subscribing to receive the articles in your email, link in the column on the right.