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I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

theguardian.com

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Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#331

Post by whobar »

usgroup wrote: post #286
telesilla wrote: post #266

"This valley is cut in the shape of my heart". I've known farmers like him, bachelors who are mild mannered and love their lives and the extended family that comes with living an entire life in one valley. He maybe goes to Sunday service for socialization and the local pub to watch the game, and as long as his sheep are healthy and the sky does what it promises (because he knows the day before always if it will rain)…

I appreciate the romance, but those of us who have children leave behind much more than stone walls we built in our 20s. He’s a 72 year old Batchelor who’s once stepped foot outside a Welsh valley. If happiness is a lobotomy then credit to us who don’t choose it.

If you meditate then ironically you're trying to achieve the state of mind this man has achieved and lives every day.

Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#332

Post by watwut »

sampo wrote: post #268

> two pieces of fish, one big onion, an egg, baked beans and a few biscuits at the end How do you eat an onion for supper? Raw, or cooked? If cooked, how do you cook it?

Cut raw into small pieces and eat it slowly. As a spice or something like that - it adds flavor when mixed with other foods.

For example, you can put butter or lard on bread, spread those small pieces of onion on it, add salt. It is actually good.

You can also cut it into thick ovals and bake. Third option is to caramelize it. But, these two are time consuming.

Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#333

Post by bobmaxup »

usgroup wrote: post #286
telesilla wrote: post #266

"This valley is cut in the shape of my heart". I've known farmers like him, bachelors who are mild mannered and love their lives and the extended family that comes with living an entire life in one valley. He maybe goes to Sunday service for socialization and the local pub to watch the game, and as long as his sheep are healthy and the sky does what it promises (because he knows the day before always if it will rain)…

I appreciate the romance, but those of us who have children leave behind much more than stone walls we built in our 20s. He’s a 72 year old Batchelor who’s once stepped foot outside a Welsh valley. If happiness is a lobotomy then credit to us who don’t choose it.

Are we to infer that you aren't happy?

Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#334

Post by raffraffraff »

taneq wrote: post #221
cldellow wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read that differently from you. I think he's sad because they _do_ go to the effort of hearing the cuckoos, but they're rushing. They're not fully present, and so they don't get the full experience. He, by contrast, is very present in the things he does. That he doesn't choose to do many things is a different topic.

Is it different, though? Can you do things that deeply without limiting the number of things you’re doing?

No, I don't think you can. But most people get enjoyment out of life without doing anything deeply. Sometimes you can look down your nose at them (eg people who get their science "facts" from Scientific American or /r/ifuckinglovescience and love to quote amazing bullshit at you). But sometimes it makes sense to take a shallow interest in things because, as you say, you can't go deep in everything, but that shouldn't stop you from singing badly, failing at some side project, gardening badly and doing high-effort low-quality DIY at the weekend.

The contrast reminds me of a fad among 20-something's back in the 90s, spending a year "roughing it" on a grand tour of some third-world country. They'd come back with a tattoo, weighing 60kg, tanned and full of derision for "...your first world addiction to consumerism, man", and laughing at people who take their jobs seriously. Telling stories of dysentry, dangerous situations, psychedelics, corrupt police, bribing border guards, and living on pennies a day. "You get to see the real ". But while they certainly got closer to 'grit', they never really blended in with the locals for the same reason that they couldn't appreciate poverty. It was because they knew they had an exit strategy. They were fake, like Carla in Fight Club, going to terminal cancer support groups. Like the rich girl in Pulp's song, Common People, hanging out in a rough neighborhood, renting a flat above a shop, getting a shitty job and pretending she never went to school. But she never gets it right because she knows she can call her Daddy any time and he'll rescue her. And true enough, every man-Jack of those 20-something's had a car and a career within months of their return, and they're rightfully embarrassed about the enlightened crap they gave everyone when they first got back. Maybe a 2 week holiday to see the scenery is just as good after all?

Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#335

Post by throwagrayson »

diehunde wrote: post #180

Trying to eat something different everyday is an American obsession that I'll never understand. It's just so stressful and inconvenient. I grew up in a small town where eating the same for dinner everyday was extremely common. Tea or coffee and bread. The only variable would be what you put in your bread. Some days it would be butter, some days it would jam. Some days it would be honey, some days it would be avocado.

Coincidentally, anorexia started in the US. Maybe we're just really hungry

Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#336

Post by alisonatwork »

nessex wrote: post #265
alisonatwork wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tried living without a mattress for a while. It wasn't super comfortable but it wasn't really a major problem till winter, at which point I realized I would need some more insulation, and a mattress seemed like the best bang for the buck. I might be able to make do without if I lived in a warmer place. Right now, though, the place I'm renting came furnished, so it's not an issue. (Bonus with a furnished place - I d…

That's pretty much the exact philosophy I live by. I've definitely found no bed frame to be a hard-sell to family and friends, and it's hard to see why once you've tried all the options. A mattress makes a lot of sense, but a bed frame adds little value unless you are short on storage and one has storage built in, or you aren't mobile enough to get to the ground. But maybe I'm missing some utility that others have fo…

When I lived in China I found it a lot easier to live this way because the apartments are smaller and there seems to be more of a culture of going into the community to eat at local restaurants or finding entertainment in public spaces.

Now I am back in the North America I think it's harder, because people build houses much bigger, and seem to associate not having much stuff with being unhappy or underprivileged instead of well-optimized and free.

I've found a bit more in common with the rubber tramp and liveaboard communities in this part of the world. They are very mindful about everything they buy because space is limited, so trying to find things that are multifunctional is a high priority. A lot of those things work in houses too.

On the other hand, I don't think their lives are as low stress as I would like, because they end up needing maintain an entire vehicle as well as the stuff in it.

Two other hacks, for women at least, is to quit makeup and shaving. I quit makeup about 5 years ago by accident forgetting to put it on one morning, and then I realized no one at work noticed anyways. Quitting shaving has been more of a corona era thing. I'm not sure if I'll stick with it over the summer, but I've been out a few times in shorts and it seemed nobody much cared. That cuts a bunch of unnecessary maintenance time out of my life, which I can now use for other things.

Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#337

Post by faichai »

I’m not trying to be mean, but there is a chance this guy has some deep anxiety and self-esteem issues which means he doesn’t even think to look outside of his comfort zone. Routine is a way of not stressing yourself out with newness and the possibility you might not cope, and fail.

Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#338

Post by Griffinsauce »

DyslexicAtheist wrote: post #270
irjustin wrote: post #248

Happiness - he's found it. Sure, he's an extreme and very few want to emulate it because there's a mild element of delusion. But, he's found the thing so many of us work our entire lives for only to never find. Part of life is letting happiness find you, part of life is finding happiness, and part of life is pushing away things to find happiness in what you have. I say, well done.

you did use the word "mild". but it made me wonder if not every person I've ever encountered that looked happy seemed like that a bit. The happier somebody is the more deluded they look to the rest of us. People in love are perhaps the most obvious. But it says probably more about the observer.

I think this just tells you that happiness is not objective.

Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#339

Post by watwut »

giantg2 wrote: post #42
kohanz wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but his diet has clearly worked for him. Is it clear, given the multiple strokes? We don't know with certainty whether the diet was a significant factor, but it's possible.

I know of people who do not eat veggies an have lived into their 70s before they have a stroke. The are also people who have strokes or other problems before 70 even if they eat their veggies. I fully expect that my high stress and sedentary life of a software developer will kill me long before 70. Such are the trade offs of a well paying profession.

Vegetables lowers the chance of stroke. They are not supposed to completely prevent it. There are many more factors that go into whether you get stroke. But, vegetable intake makes yours blood pressure go down somewhat and make you less likely to have stroke.

Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#340

Post by timeon »

medium_burrito wrote: post #170
montenegrohugo wrote: post #7

There is value in finding your place in life and being content with it. Yes, you might be able to change it, perhaps to conform to more traditional standards of 'success', but why bother if you're happy as you are? If we humans optimize by happiness, then we should have nothing but envy for a life like Wilf Davies leads.

one must imagine Sisyphus happy

Some people do enjoy grass mowing.
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