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Rabi'a Elizabeth B's avatar

That Sunday scaries piece is essential reading and I'm sharing it all over the place. It describes what happens when people have little or no agency over pursuit of right livelihood for decades on end. You can have a job that suits your talents, but your time and even your right to occupy a space of your choosing is still profoundly not your own. It's your company's.

Viktor Frankl points out in Man's Search for Meaning that a complete lack of tension or focus is actually bad for people: it was the people who felt they had something to live for, no matter what it was, who typically kept going despite extreme adversity. Too often, workers in capitalist society become so used to having The Job be their focus uber alles that without The Job they don't know what to do with themselves. And so, many older men, in particular, die in their first year or so of retirement.

I'm still grappling with this as a somewhat retired person. I most likely have a couple of months of contract work coming up, which is fine because I can use the extra cash. Sadly, I feel an odd relief that several hours of each day will be hoovered up again. And I regret that I have such a hard time finding meaning in my days that I welcome paid work again.

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Minh Nguyen's avatar

It's been a turbulent year. I struggled with 2020 as much as everyone else: unemployment, lockdown, depression. Though I'm luckier than most to have landed on my feet again, I am just so, so tired. We deserve this hard earned respite.

Thank you for writing. Here's to a brighter 2021.

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