Reconciling the irreconcilable

First of all apologies are in order, I'm making this op from my phone(phone based posts on ats are truly degredory, but, I'm currently at home with no functioning computer.)

I'm 19 years old and iv just finished my sophomore year in college. I will not be enrolling next semester due to the lack of clarity on what I want my life to entail. It seems that no matter what path i take I will have to reconcile the irreconcilable. There is an inherent incompatibility in any path you take in contemporary reality. It seems every path I look down there will be places on that path that I will have to rationalize to myself (rational lies.) I want grow exponentially as a human being and give so much to the world in the process. However every path I look to has ugly patches. I don't want to work a "9-5" job my whole life because I feel that when I clock in im a slave. That I'm working my ass off to make someone else filthy rich, and that I'm selling my sole at the expense of some abstract corporate profit. I don't want to be a cog in the machine of some faceless burocracy. So I tell myself I want to be an entrepreneaur, my own boss making my own money, this way I can also have all the free time to grow and expand as a human being while generating passive income. I can also give on a large scale to the world. Alas however, if my business were to grow to the proportions I want it to i would have to employ slave labor, marketing, and other dirty tactics to stay on top and at the expense of my competitors. So I think to myself, screw it, maybe iv had enough of this BS world and I want to leave society to become a buddhist monk. However, I disagree with religion, it is my opinion that it placates the populace and as marx said "is the opium of the people." These are just examples. Every route i step on I see its fallacies. It seems to me that Marx was right, there are the oppressors and the oppressed. I don't want to be part of the oppressed, but, morally I don't feel comfortable being an oppressor. Living off the grid is way too lonely and not the life I'm looking for. Every path I dare trod I for see myself reconciling the irreconcilable. Have you, or are you having this dilemma yourself? If so how are you handling it?

Another good title would have been "paralysis by analysis"

So, what do you have in mind to build your business and make your millions? Seems to me, a "9 to 5" would make sense till you have the money to start your own business. Raking leaves and mowing lawns here and there won't do the job...


Maybe you should live like the guy who built his hobbit house. Works and makes enough along the way to live and enjoy life but not be anchored by a "9 to 5" job.

You're absolutly correct. However, this thread is less over the practicality of one of the infinite paths one can take in today's world in particular. It is more over the inherent immortality I see somewhere in all paths one can take. It is an interrogative op. Do you share my sentiments? Do you also have inner conflicts about the path you are pursuing? If so, why? If not, why not? What are you seeing that I'm not, if anything.

a reply to: XxRagingxPandaxX

Maybe you should look into Off the grid communities. There would be others right there with you so it would not be lonely.

a reply to: XxRagingxPandaxX

You have to follow your heart, as trite as that sounds. Sometimes we dont know where exactly to go, though we do know where not to go. In fact very few know exactly what their path in life is, but most compromise and start walking someone elses path, because its better than no path in their minds.

But finding ones path is part of walking that path. Never is one off their path unless theyve stopped seeking it, compromised, and chosen consciously to walk a path that they know in their hearts isnt theirs.

You are on your path Panda, and it seems you are cognizant of what is off of it. While it seems you may be directionless and not going anywhere, you are indeed going in the right direction by identifying which directions are wrong and tangential, and refusing to go towards them. Not following the wrong paths is following the right one. In time it will become more clear what your purpose here is, and youll discover more about yourself than you ever knew in the process.

Keep searching, and never compromise your principles.

Youll find your way as only you can.

a reply to: [post=17931798]tinker9917[/post
But, isn't that showing indifference to society and the world at large's suffering?

a reply to: CaticusMaximus
Thank you for your thoughtful and insightful post caticusmaximus, I will keep searching.

a reply to: XxRagingxPandaxX
I don't think so, anyway. I think it would be choosing to live a more free life. Sure, you'd be without the luxuries (some would say) of cable tv and cellphones, but isn't that part of what you're talking about, being chained to the expectations of today's life?

a reply to: tinker9917
It's actually more about being chained to inner conflict.

I see the Pro's and con's to doing your proposal.

a reply to: XxRagingxPandaxX
Think on this.
You are 19.
When you registered with ATS you were 15.
You have just spent four years, an extremely formative period in anyones life, visiting ATS.
Ats is a very broad playground. Thoughts and ideas spinning around all over the place. And ohhhhh so many very paranoid theories and predictions.

I see your dilemma not as reconciling the irreconcilable but rather wanting, to reconcile the irreconcilable.
I don't think it can be. We don't need to listen to those who tell us we have to, or even can.
Going through life and living with our own tarnish, turns-out to be the life of 99.9999 of us.
Just make the most of it.

Paralysis by analysis... good one.

I have walked these paths.

Normally, in the rare circumstance that someone actually asks for advice, I would first disabuse them of their misconceptions and then elucidate the solution. But in your case I sense that you are already suffering under the malaise of having all of your conceptions being in a state of deconstruction and wholly broken. As such I will skip straight to the prescription. The advice. The solution.

[the following is only for member XxRagingxPandaxX an no one else]

I give you the following word. To carry with you. As your own secret. To move forward with. A forgotten word. A word that has fallen out of fashion. A word that has a bright future, and is longing for some living soul to take it up and wield it.

That word is "intervenient".

Use it with great care and caution. Sparingly and with purpose. In twenty years, perhaps, you too will be able to pass the word on to someone else.

[for anyone else who may be reading this]

“Non canimus surdis, respondent omnia sylvæ,”


Mike Grouchy

a reply to: XxRagingxPandaxX

It's actually more about being chained to inner conflict.

One may think that the more choices one has the freer one is and have more chance at a happy life. However, more choice brings more conflict. If you were born in a poor world where you had no choice but to just get on with it you would be less conflicted and maybe happier. If you believe you have to choose the right choice and you feel unhappy, you will think it is your fault that you chose wrong and you will beat yourself up - more choice brings internal conflict.

Take some time .. go on a roadtrip see the world .. meditate .. get an education along the way .. life is meant to be lived .. live it .. in time it will come to you what is best for you to do ..
Things to avoid : joining the military .. becoming a politician ...

a reply to: XxRagingxPandaxX

First off I applaud you for daring to ask this question and actually ponder the consequences. Too few people take the time to look at the Matrix and what it means to them. Secondly I wanted to let you know after working at 40 jobs (including running 4 businesses) that it ultimately matters very little the path you take as long as you keep your moral compass focused and you stay in touch with your true Being (not your egos). I have found over the years that every twist and turn (including abject failures) on my path helped me to understand my own defects and put me in contact with situations and people that I needed in order to evolve.

That being said I would take a very different path today if I were 19 than I did when I was 19 in 1978. I would start a death metal band instead of a souther rock band for starters LOL. But seriously everything is about intent and awakened consciousness. Read the book "Let My People Go Surfing" by Yvon Chouinard (who founded Patagonia). He was a rock climbing bum in the early 60's who forged pitons and sold them to other itinerent climbers to pay for his trips. Eventually because his tools were so much better (because he cared about the safety of his fellow climbers and not the $) he had to hire people. He hired his friends and was always more concerned with their welfare than the business. In fact if the surf was up he encouraged them to go surfing instead of working. Of course this made the employees very loyal, they created great products and his business thrived.

I have found that you can work this magic as an employee as well. I currently sell portfolio analytic software into the financial community. Unfortunately this financial community (mainly the TBTF banks) is the cause of much of the world's problems today. What I focus on are the actual people who run and advisor shop or money management company. What are they really looking for and how can I help them. I never take advantage of any of them. Many times I will do custom work for them and give this to them for free. I only try to assist and then rely on my inner Being to take care of me. Of course this leads to amazing opportunities, referals and lots of signed contracts from greatful clients.

In a nutshell what I am advising is to focus on what you want to bring to the world and how you can help. Everything else is fluff. If you don't feed your egos but listen to your true Being then you will have an amazing journey. Will you have some failures? Of course! The Path is not easily trodden. These failures are part of our learning process and the rewards are amazing.