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Have Taken Up Farming

dylan.gr

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Re: Have Taken Up Farming

#71

Post by ggm »

NoBeardMarch wrote: post #31
reincarnate0x14 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I can give you any advice as a likely older man to a younger man, no bias intended, happiness is fleeting. Look for fulfillment. I personally find religious apologies to be empty but if they get you to a good place, fuck it, I can't argue with everyone over methods. If your job is fulfilling, or enables you to do fulfilling things in your other time, there is no shame in that. There is a visceral spiritualism to w…

I generally do not pursue happiness, I try to pursue purpose. Life is peaks and valleys, the only permanence being that nothing really persists. Writing code is also working with your hands. It produces real world effects which even if you cannot observe them directly still provide societal benefit: The "impact" of this can in many cases be much larger than a manual job.

I think your leading sentence is a false Dichotomy for many people. Pursuit of happiness doesn't imply being in a state of bliss all the time. Stoics are allowed to be happy too.

Re: Have Taken Up Farming

#72

Post by NoBeardMarch »

lukan wrote: post #70
NoBeardMarch wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it makes you happy, then by all means go for that. I am glad for you. What is generally recommended and evidence based is a different matter. I will not pretend to be an expert on it: All I have done is a cursory glance on pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov For me, my joy has come from strength resistance training and my discovery of the stairmaster. The latter was a very fun find! It's a really strenuous exercise which make…

"What is generally recommended and evidence based is a different matter." Yeah, but wikipedia for example says this, which matches my experience: "Scientific research into the practice of running barefoot or with minimalist shoes is increasingly suggesting that it increases intrinsic foot muscle size and strength, but it has been limited to healthy individuals and further research is required to reach definite conclu…

Interesting. I am certainly very open to my initial broad sweep being incorrect on barefoot running. I would want to dig much deeper into it than Wikipedia alone though, even though its a serviceable source.

Re: Have Taken Up Farming

#73

Post by moron4hire »

ironbound wrote: post #66
moron4hire wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the article: > I finished reading the Bible. It resonated with me in a way nothing else had before. Having been raised in a Christian tradition as well, I don't get this. I don't get how you can, as an educated, rational, thinking adult, go from 0 religion to learning about Christianity and saying, "yeah, that sounds plausible." The only reason I stuck to it so long was familial fear mongering and cultural momen…

I think therapy was the first step here.. but some people have to find the "answer" even if it's the man in the sky saying he loves you very much xD

He loves you and only he can truly love you. And if you don't love him first, you're the problem and you're going to end up in a place of eternal torment. Don't make him do this to you. He doesn't want to send you to hell. Oh wait, no, he's not the one sending you to hell, he's just not going to save you from hell. Yeah, that's it. Only his love can save you from yourself, see.

It's a cult. If God were real, he'd be a sociopath.

Re: Have Taken Up Farming

#74

Post by rsynnott »

Tade0 wrote: post #12
tonnydourado wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe if he had read a better bible translation he would've reached a more moderate spiritual enlightenment =P

I didn't read the article, but a quick Ctrl+F confirmed my suspicions. I was raised Roman Catholic and to me it was always a head scratcher why would someone insist on a certain translation which is at least two languages away from the original. It's a whole field of study and there's broad agreement that as language evolves translations need to be updated, otherwise you'd have to become an expert in that old languag…

AIUI this was basically deliberate; the KJV was written in language that was a little archaic/faux-archaic even at the time it was written, to sound impressive.

It’s probably not a great thing for a modern English speaker to read if they want to actually understand it; in particular the meaning of certain English words has changed enough that they can give a false impression.

Re: Have Taken Up Farming

#75

Post by lukan »

NoBeardMarch wrote: post #72
lukan wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"What is generally recommended and evidence based is a different matter." Yeah, but wikipedia for example says this, which matches my experience: "Scientific research into the practice of running barefoot or with minimalist shoes is increasingly suggesting that it increases intrinsic foot muscle size and strength, but it has been limited to healthy individuals and further research is required to reach definite conclu…

Interesting. I am certainly very open to my initial broad sweep being incorrect on barefoot running. I would want to dig much deeper into it than Wikipedia alone though, even though its a serviceable source.

Sure, Wikipedia alone ain't trustable.

But more on the matter, I am not so much a advocate of running barefoot, but doing anything barefeet if possible. Dancing is so much more enjoyable for me like this, so many more moves possible without shoe restrictions, but it depends of course on the setting and place.

(Now I will go out and do some rock climbing barefeet)

Re: Have Taken Up Farming

#76

Post by kcexn »

NoBeardMarch wrote: post #16
reincarnate0x14 wrote: post #6

I'm happy this person found a way to live that's meaningful to him, but I grew up as a farmer. You're coming back to something we've known a long time. If a god is what let's you get there, then good, let god keep you whole. But this is what the classics of stoicism (in the literal sense of both) have been telling us the whole time. We make our own meaning, and money isn't it. Go and grow things. Raise things. Build…

It's honestly quite interesting to me how this presents. I mean: Yes, people should ultimately pursue some form of happiness, but for me that happiness is genuinely doing software engineering work, and I do not think we should demonize the 9-5 office-job. In my opinion it gets too much flack, and the "move to a farm"-dream becomes some kinds of utopic ideal, which I really do not believe it is. I have worked much hea…

The "move to a farm" dream seems like it would be nice if one didn't have any financial stress. So, more like retire to a farm.

Re: Have Taken Up Farming

#77

Post by stavros »

NoBeardMarch wrote: post #16
reincarnate0x14 wrote: post #6

I'm happy this person found a way to live that's meaningful to him, but I grew up as a farmer. You're coming back to something we've known a long time. If a god is what let's you get there, then good, let god keep you whole. But this is what the classics of stoicism (in the literal sense of both) have been telling us the whole time. We make our own meaning, and money isn't it. Go and grow things. Raise things. Build…

It's honestly quite interesting to me how this presents. I mean: Yes, people should ultimately pursue some form of happiness, but for me that happiness is genuinely doing software engineering work, and I do not think we should demonize the 9-5 office-job. In my opinion it gets too much flack, and the "move to a farm"-dream becomes some kinds of utopic ideal, which I really do not believe it is. I have worked much hea…

I've been a farmer and I've been a software developer, and farming was just a "this is work that puts money on the table", whereas software development is what I really find fulfilling. I entirely agree with you that it's idolized too much (together with carpentry), and yes, do whatever makes you happy, for some people it's one, for some it's the other.

Re: Have Taken Up Farming

#78

Post by matthewh806 »

cpr wrote: post #67
matthewh806 wrote: post #43

This was quite an interesting read. It's good to hear that farming & spirituality have given you a new purpose in life, but I think this pop at Thoreau > and no, there's no manifesto decrying the system written from a cabin in the woods Is a bit unjustified considering you've just written an entire blog post decrying your old "meaningless" existence vs the fulfilment you have in your new life. It comes across a bit h…

I think he was referencing Ted Kaszinski (sp?).

Ah fair enough, yes that makes sense! Well either way...

Re: Have Taken Up Farming

#79

Post by stavros »

Dansvidania wrote: post #41

I wonder about what in the software industry causes so many people to have similar "symptoms" from it. I believe it must be something about dedicating oneself to creating something that "does not exist" in a material sense. My 'farming' has been woodworking: completing the simplest wooden furniture has given me a satisfaction that I do not remember any app or software product ever getting close to causing, despite th…

It's that we make enough money to not be trapped in it for life.

Jobs are, by definition, things you get paid to do, because you wouldn't do them for free. Therefore, by definition, everyone hates their job to some degree. We just have the luxury of leaving.

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