I don't have a plan.... and I don't enjoy living my life this way.

You are talking to a man that really has no "normal" personal goals, no career aspirations, and I'm slowly moving from the "upper-middle" class to the "lower-middle" class... I try my best to avoid the "lower class" for the sake of my children... and thanks to the money on my family tree, I know as long as money has any worth... my kids will be okay.... When money has no worth... We will se what happens.


As a citizen of the United States... I no longer know what to do.

I don't know who to vote for for anymore, in fact, I'm starting to realize that voting no longer serves the people's best interest.

I've established a career for 7 years... but was recently laid off, and thanks to my current situation I'll do just fine collecting unemployment for the next year while I continue my job search.

I have a few personal habits I'd like to end... but that's about it.


But this is the bottom line... and the reason I made this thread... I now believe that the current events surrounding this world will dictate the choices I make in the future. I now have to wait and see if this Health Care Bill passes... I have to figure out if Israel will attack Iran in the near future, and if they do, I'll change my entire lifestyle... I have to wait and see what happens on numerous things... because as a American Citizen, the ball is no longer in my court.

I see people making plans to go to school and start a beauty salon, I see people making plans to pay off their $100 thousand dollars of debt... I see people that are making major sacrifices in hopes of keeping their business alive.

Me?

I'm starting to get p*ssed off at the All Mighty Dollar.... after all, the people that print the paper society depends on, are probably their biggest threat.


POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!!

but the people are starting to look like this:

Hang in there Doomsday. All we can do is wait and see what big event they throw at us next. Most of us here I think are getting ready for just about anything.

After the medium class job I had a month ago I just found a lower payer paid job that seems ok.

My work can get a lot from me but my integrity is not for sale.

Everyone is trying to find his or her purpose in this vast universe and the current tensions in the world on economic, wars, and nature fronts is bad for all of us.

I notice it a lot, it is like a world wide depression a lot of us go through because we care about our world, and there are too many people there who only care for their own limitless greed that make things worse.

It hasn't been confirmed by the authorities yet but it looks a 27 year old Dutch cop murdered a 12 year old girl from 2 houses away.

The system has been corrupted for so long that even the ones at the top are not in control and perhaps never been.

I don't know where this world is going to either but I wish it was more like Star Trek the next generation.

So trust me when I say you are not alone, we are with you.

Take care

gm

relax chief....
enjoy the ride...
I dont know what you expect out of this thread, but it sounds like yer uptight for no reason.
I hope israel does attack, i hope the dollar dies...doesn't every generation long to be the last...we must know something that we don't know that we know....


again...what do you want?

If your kids are young why not get away from the PC (or Mac lol) and get outside and enjoy some time with them. Get an axe and help em make a fort from cutting down trees (kinda like lincoln logs, my dad taught me and my brother and we could clear out enough trees in a week to make a five foot high fort). Take em fishin, just spend time with them. They are now your life. Your personal goals should be to ensure them adequate attention and enjoyment from just being with them. I know life sucks right now but those children should remind you daily that the only thing that matters is them. Hope this post helps you out and I really hope you find your way to a happy or at minimum uneventful life.

Oh and one more thing. get on your computer some times and spend some time fraggin people in TF2. Always makes me feel better.

[edit on 17-3-2010 by ventian]

hey fellow ats'r. i know the feeling i was going DOWN mentaly and physically. i got tierd of it. i made the choice to live freely truly changed my dark perception of my life.my glass is half full bro no veryfull! the fact that your reaching out is proof of the love in you let that guild you . not societies expectations.us an other thing that helps me is not to comparer my life to any others.i bet you are already makeing changes for the best .much love friend-peace

Dooms, really brother, you are not alone. I stopped being a pharmacy tech 2 years ago and started becoming a waiter. I honestly woke up one day and realized that my moral fiber could not let me hold the money I was making with a clear mind.

I am also now slowly dropping down in the economic food chain. However, I refuse to climb back to the top using broken lives and the exploitation of other humans so that I could reach the peak only to become part of a higher ladder for more greed to step on.

Something will change the way we live, I can feel it in my bones. When I read about something that could change our lives, or posts like yours, it's almost like a straight shot of adrenaline rushes through my system. Hang in there, I and many others are with you.

Doomsday 2029, I feel your pain and anger and I really mean it. Just like you I get pi&*ed off at the dollar, everything revolve around it, is life really suppose to be like that?

reply to post by Doomsday 2029


I can relate to some of what you are saying. I think a lot of the upper societies are suffering right now because we have gotten a little big for our britches.

I think our focus has gotten a bit out of whack. Our priorities are a bit screwed up and we have forgotten what is really important. I know that some things suck right now, but I believe you are re-focusing and the things nearest you are becoming clearer while the things further out, that you are discovering really don't matter are losing thier focus.

I truly believe that we need to learn that is OKAY to lose that focus and re-adjust our way of thinking. I have had to do this recently not so much becuase of the economy but because of a medical diagnosis. Nothing life threatening at the time and not shattering because I won't allow it to be, but.....a 're-focusing' event.

I strongly feel that while the erruption of technology has connected us in so many ways....is also pushing us apart on a more personal, near level. fifty years ago, most people were concerned most with their immediate family, felt strong about their immediate community and watched the news every once in awhile but mostly read the paper to learn about what was going on in the rest of the country first, and lastly the rest of the world.

I think all this instant info at our fingertips has put a terrible burden on us all. All of a sudden we have to worry about the rest of the world. Not only that, but we need to worry about our own personal footprint or impact we personally have, we are told over and over and over and over and over again. While I should be focusing on my husband and kids concerns and needs (and yes, amazingly enough, even my own), I spend so much time worrying about the flood in China, and the starving people in Africa and the dying people in Haiti and the war in Irag and the temple that is being dedicated and the earthquakes on the other side of the world and the politics in russia and germany and turkey. Then there is the healthcare reform and the jobless rates and the gas prices and the CIA and the FBI and DEA and the FDA and the CDC....OMG!!!! Then, if that weren't enough we have the fear campaign ran by our government to keep it's flock in check. I have to worry about the bird flu and the swine flu and the seasonal flu and TB and measles and Small pox and anthrax and nuclear weapons and biological weapons and global warming and it just goes on and on and on and on......

So yes, I can relate to what you and SOOOOOOO many other people are feeling right now.

You know what I have decided to do about it? As little as possible!!!! I have recently cut back on my hours at work (thank god we as a family can afford it). I hardly ever watch the news, try not to talk politics, try not to focus on all the disasters occuring around the world (although I am very fascinated in my local geology) and am trying to get back to basics.

I am trying to get back to more home-made foods and less processed crap. I am trying to spend more time just being with my family and supporting them and being there for them. I plan on spending more time in my yard this spring and actually planting a garden. I am going to try and give back more to my community and get involved.

Bottom line: BACK TO BASICS.

I can do NOTHING that is going to make a difference in Iraq or Africa or Haiti or even my own national government. But I can make a differnce in my childrens lives and even in my community. I am going to concentrate in the things that I can control and make a difference in. I feel that if more of us did that, we have a whole lot less sh#t to deal with.

Life is a great ride, we just need to learn to enjoy it and not scream the whole way through.

reply to post by Doomsday 2029


What can I say my friend?
There are many of us that had plans.
And, maybe they were delusional pipe dreams, because of economic status!
I had a few myself.
With years of positivity and flexibility to re-invent yourself once you have exhausted a particular avenue of fruitless effort; never give up! If only to keep the wolf from the door.

One day you may find your favorable vocation- Good luck to you!

Originally posted by Doomsday 2029
I'm slowly moving from the "upper-middle" class to the "lower-middle" class...

It's the same story for most people in the world, either they realize it or not

reply to post by Doomsday 2029


I don't have any kids and im stuck in a third world country so I would't know how you feel but if it makes you feel any better TPTB can't keep treating us like crap for long for when everyone realizes just how bad things are we will soon take back the economy and restore order to this f****d up world.

I don't have much to add, but I feel much like you Doomsday. The love in your heart is where it's at when all noise is removed. I don't have much of a plan either, just trying to get by and keep my grown sons still living at home from sinking into alcoholism or suicide because the chances of them ever getting out on their own (a basic human need I think) are pretty much nil, indefinitely. My other half is busting himself in two to put food on the table in an aging body and is just grateful to be working. I struggle developing and managing a home business. Doesn't leave much room for a plan. My plan is to appreciate the gifts I've been given (and they are gifts, despite where they came from) and let those I'm surrounded by that they are loved and valued despite all other noise. I found the responses in your thread uplifting to me. Thanks and my thoughts are with you as you struggle to find your way.

Completely understand how you feel, mate.

I feel the same. My problem is that I'm stuck in my job.

I say "stuck" - not really, just mentally or because my "ego" enjoys the comfort it provides.

If I could find something that I truly felt happy with, but allowed me to persue my hobbies that I enjoy, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, that's the lure of the sh*tty IT industry: it's a complete doss of a job and rewards you with easy money.

In terms of stress and work when compared to a real job like doctor, nurse, social services, police, rescue, etc, it's crap. But it lets me enjoy everything "outside" of work. So it's a catch 22.

Kids gone----never believed in plastic, so no debts revolving @ interest, got guns, ammo, water and wilderness nearby, so the world can take a kr@p for all I care.
You can't get here on one tank of gas from anywhere that matters, and city folk would find it a bit too harsh for their liking anyway.

I'm done with trying to save the current system, and sometimes it is best to let all the old ways die out to make way for a new paradigm.

I still have a life, a job and goals, but I have seen this coming as a possibility for at least a decade, so I have prepared for it-----no matter which direction it takes.
Life as usual, or something new.

All I can say is that I completely understand what you are saying. All the dreams and goals I once had feel meaningless and doomed...and although my life is still rolling along somewhat, I can't figure out which way is up anymore. I don't have a plan, either... and even if I did, we can't plan for the things we don't understand.

All I can say is that I completely understand what you are saying. All the dreams and goals I once had feel meaningless and doomed...and although my life is still rolling along somewhat, I can't figure out which way is up anymore. I don't have a plan, either... and even if I did, we can't plan for the things we don't understand.

As many have said before me, you are not alone.

I have 20 years of a career behind me, and what to show for it? No job, or any prospects.

I struggle mentally with the fact that I need income for my family to survive. I enjoyed my career years ago, but it eventually became a mind numbing unfulfilling chore. A paycheck for the bills.

Now I am beside myself wondering what for? Thinking to myself, there has got to be something I can do that I would actually like to do, something that would be mnore than a paycheck.

On top of those things I feel as though we (humanity) are on the brink of something, good or bad, it just has the feel of something big about to go down.

I abide the laws of man based on fear alone for the consequences. Though, realize this if you may...
We are all, one day, going to die. That is our one guarantee upon birth. We try to make do and make right with what we have and for those we care for, which is by far the most important thing and reason to keep going on. I have the same aspirations as you... which are little. I know i will work to find a good job one day down the road, but in the end, what is really the point? To be told and torn down by others who must control the mass? Perfect example of the first bit of control upon ourselves.. (not slavery heh) .. but in its simplest form... time and days. There is no such thing in reality of time, we created it to understand and control our world; then we accepted it and now live by "time". .. this is merely an example but it serves some purpose to make the point... the point being that nothing truly is restricting except to our culture/country. .... hmm.. i dunno where i'm going with this but yet, i'm a "rambling man" heheheheh.
So just suck it up and do as well as you can.. for that is all we can do. Don't look upon the end of life as so tragic, for it is not (depending on belief... atheism, to a point i find amusing, is the worst for death.. nothingness.. so lame).
bah enough with my lil rant. Best wishes m8.

Thanks for all the comments guys. They were very uplifting to read.

It's nice to know that ATS has shown me time and time again that I'm not alone in terms of the way I think, feel, and believe.

I guess for now I just need to focus on my health, family, and spirituality... and I certainly could improve in all three of these areas.