Why do we see a rapid increase in every major health issue? Why do we have homeless people in cities? What caused your debt situation? What makes your life a living hell from time to time? Why you don’t stand a good chance to live a long and prosperous (healthy) life?
As you will see, just one, single, crucial decision, made by more than a half of the human population, is causing all of the above and many more dreadful things we are seeing and experiencing on a day to day basis.
Think I’m insane? Let’s see…
What you do for a living?
OK.
Why you do it?
…
After my first question, you were thinking about your job. And when I asked you the second question, your first thought was – money. Not your wife…not your kids…hell, not even you.
It was money.
And if I ask you right now, do you think that money is the single most important thing in life, what would you answer me?
…
What you do for a living?
Why you do it?
…
I’ll tell you why.
Because you decided to sell your labor for a fixed monetary compensation!
It was your choice to put your body under the immense stress. That choice will most likely lead you in situation where you are forced to pop several different pills throughout the day, just to keep your heartbeat rate and blood pressure under the control.
But how did you end up in that scenario?
You were, more or less, forced into it due to one paradigm of our contemporary society and one particular distorted view on how one should live his life.
The paradigm is: formal education. The distorted view is known as: social class separation.
Your formal education prepared you for the job. That was and still is their main intention. They set you up on a path where you have to know something to be able to sell your labor for money.
That wasn’t necessary your choice. You were expected to undergo some type of formal education. And there’s nothing essentially wrong with that. It’s a positive thing to expose your brain to different stimuli and learn something new every day.
But, that learning through stimulation doesn’t have to end with dogma! That’s vital for you to keep in mind.
The consequence of that decision is mind blowing and largely overlooked
This paradigm of having a “job” rather than farming the land and producing the food, got triggered some 250 years ago. Under the influence of social class separation dogma and irrational moralization, where farming people and all others working on land to produce food were observed as a lower class, ever more people decided to move to the cities and get the job!
What they essentially did was depriving themselves from the vital, direct source of healthy food and clean, non-processed water. That’s summa summarum of that decision.
Under the premise that selling your labor for a fixed monthly monetary compensation is a way to climb up the social class ladder, young people left the countryside in search for “more socially acceptable” way to survive on this harsh planet.
Instead of living under their own terms, they chose to live under the terms imposed by someone who’s buying their labor on recurring bases.
There are two major limiting factors in this system of living:
- In traditional conception of “job,” human labor gets seriously undervalued and subsequently underpaid. In the same time, regardless of the amount of invested labor, monetary compensation or the price of that labor can only reach the imposed maximum monthly limit in a specified monetary value;
- Employee’s life, in terms of freedom of choice, is further limited due to the obligation of spending the exact number of hours, in a specified period, on a specific place! In other words, you deliberately chose to spend 8-12 hours, Monday to Friday, in extremely stressful environment, where you have no freedom to decide where to stop, take a break, come and leave.
And then you wonder about the meaning of life and sanity of our system…It’s not the system. It’s you. Your choice.
For some strange reason, more than a half of human population has developed a distorted view on what is exactly “hard labor.”
As you know, we grow up under the premise that life on the countryside is connected with the hard labor and that one should get the fuck out of there as soon as possible.
In reality, the amount of energy used in operations needed in farming the land and breeding the animals is lower than an amount of energy one spends just to commute to the traditional job in some cases.
Add specific working conditions, such are those in constructions works, mining, bakery, garbage disposal and everything else where actual physical effort is needed, and you’ll come to a simple conclusion: we are dumbasses!
Why we are dumbasses?
If you have the choice, where you can spend your life in a stressful environment; or in one that is far more relaxed, which one would you choose?
Then why are you living in a city?
You know that you’re exposed to a tremendous amount of stress on a day to day basis, and still, against your better judgement, you choose to stay in that extremely stressful environment. Would you call that a smart choice?
You depend on money. Fail to make it and you’re fucked! At the same time, even if Sun flare ejects just the right amount of coronary mass in the right direction and fry our electrical grid, those residing on a countryside, having some land they can cultivate, will have no difficulties surviving. Nothing will change. Somebody just turned off the lights!
They will still have food, water and a good shelter – the essentials of our core existence.
You, on the other hand, will be left high and dry. No electricity means no water, no food, and no elevators for those residing in skyscrapers.
OK, this is a global disaster.
But let’s see how you’re doing right now, on this beautiful, early summer day on the northern hemisphere, where everything seems in perfect order, and you’re enjoying all the perks of technological and medical advances – same as those folks in villages, by the way.
This is your life right now, on this exact day and every other, until you reach the age where you’re allowed to retire – if you live that long!
You get up early in the morning, have a coffee, take a crap, have something to eat and off you go for a fun road trip. You are going to work.
An hour or so later, there you are. Everything is ready for you. There’s enough work for the team of people and not just you. But you’re happy as long as that miserable paycheck arrives in your bank account.
You’re happy with anything you get because that same miserable paycheck is covering the debt!
You signed the mortgage or a lease. You bought the car or a monthly ticket for public transportation. You bought a smartphone and probably the laptop. You bought all sorts of clothes. You paid for maintenance and different city taxes and fees.
Then, you had to buy some food.
To be able to live, you have to pay utilities also, that are much, much higher in urban centers than on the countryside.
The problem with making less than you need to cover your lifestyle is “solved” with different loans and credit cards – the sum of which is simply mind blowing.
But that’s OK. After all, you’re living in the city, busting your ballz 9-5, Monday-Friday (if lucky), having to put up with caprices of every superior officer in your company. No problem.
When you look at it, it’s like running the rat race. No end. No goal. Only pure survival just to be able to relax every once in a while on your sofa or at the bar (if you have some money to spare).
Now, add wife and children to the equation. In other words, multiply everything by factor 10! And do add the stress in the equation please.
And this is the life of your countryside equivalent…
When we say “equivalent,” we mean someone who’s making at least the same amount of money you do on your 9-5.
Only, when brain is used in an optimal way, just 1 acre of free land to cultivate may generate over $100,000 net! Have this in mind during the following overview.
In fact, let’s see the life of the one who thinks business while living on 2 acres, from which only 1 acre is used in agriculture that generate $100,000 net annually. The remaining 1 acre goes on housing, a small playground for children, workshop, large fireplace, small vineyard for personal use, and the orchard with 50 different fruit trees.
- First of all, he isn’t commuting anywhere!
- Second of all, he gets up whenever the hell he wants!
- Sirens and usual morning commotion of the urban areas are the unknown terms since he’s drinking the morning coffee on a large front porch, overseeing the land, surrounded with the sounds of nature; most likely birds.
- Then, he takes a crap, throws couple of eggs and some bacon on a grill pan and have a nice breakfast in total peace – out at the open!
- Now comes the moment when he must decide: should I take a walk and see what’s going on, or maybe I should check the newspaper first? Quite a predicament, when you think about it, right? A real issue!
- Naturally, same as every other man — who is in liberty to choose — he reads the papers first. After all, it’s around 09:45, so what’s the rush anyway…
- It’s around 11 AM and still nobody is busting his chops because he’s been sitting in the same place for 3 hours already, not working. In fact, he’s not doing anything besides reading and smoking cigarettes. OK, maybe some margin trading is there’s a good trend to ride. Otherwise, what’s the use of that smartphone, right?
- 25 strikes on the clock and off he goes. It’s time to start the fire. After all, it’s a beautiful early summer Wednesday, just perfect for BBQ.
- Wife gets out, bringing the meat and two glasses of ice-cold white wine. It’s that great Chardonnay they made last autumn.
- Around 2 PM, he sits down at the large table, together with his wife and two sons, to have a nice, peaceful lunch, out at the open.
- They can do all of this, whenever the hell they want just because they worked from the mid-April to mid-May. The harvest of the simplest, everyday thing, you’re buying from time to time (if not you, then your wife most definitely), brought $150,000 gross!
- What they’ll all do for the rest of this year and until that same period of early spring next year, it’s entirely up to them!
- Oh, yes, they gonna spend a month on a coast. After all, they bought a small property last year down by the sea – with cash!
If you’re questioning or doubting the accuracy of the above information, I’m inviting you to come to my place and experience it for yourself. We’ll have a nice breakfast, talk a bit about the global problems, and then, we’re gonna ignite that fireplace. Have some great steaks in my fridge anyway. And, you just have to taste that wine!
We are not telling you how to live your life. That’s not our intention. We are only providing you with the information. At the end, it must be your own choice.
But in all honesty, now when you’re all grown up with kids probably attending universities and getting married, which lifestyle sounds better to you?
One more thing: let’s not forget that the “countryside” I’m referring to is just 4 miles away from the urban area. Still, it seems like another galaxy.
What is that simple, everyday thing we mentioned, that generates such revenues for such small amount of efforts? That’s what bothers you right now, isn’t it?
Listen carefully: IT CAN BE ANYTHING AT ALL! And I really mean ANYTHING AT ALL because you, my friend, have no other way than to buy it. You are living in a city and everything you use or need must be purchased. That’s the lifestyle you’ve chosen for yourself. Inability to produce anything – necessity to buy everything!
So, whatever the hell comes on my mind can be easily sold TO YOU!
I’m making stuff, while you’re buying stuff. I make my money in totally stress-free environment where there’s no boss or a supervisor (except for the wife, of course J ), while you’re busting your balls for the most of the year to buy everything I make!
That’s just one difference between me and you.
Ah, yes, you’re ranked higher at the social ladder. After all, you do live in a city. I just come to the city when I feel the need to have a lunch or buy some cool stuff – with cash! Yeah, I don’t own a single credit card. In fact, I have signed a contract with the bank, that prevents the bank from enabling potential overdraft on my bank account. That simple move prevents debt!
But, there’s one crucial difference between you me and that one can make the difference between a long, healthy life, and miserable death in a hospital, before you reach the retirement.
It’s about stress more than anything else!
CORTISOL. That’s the stuff that’s been killing you; bit by bit.
Burdened by the modern lifestyle and everything connected with it, you live in a state of distress. Day after day, there’s something else that catch you off guard and disturb the calmness. It seems like you just can’t catch a break. As soon as everything settles, there it is again, and again, and again, until the last breathe you’ll take.
The fact is: when you reflect on your recent past only, you won’t be able to find a single stress-free day of your life. There’s always something that causes the familiar feeling of anxiety.
Will I make enough to pay my mortgage? If she buys that purse, will there be enough left for food until my next paycheck arrives? Who’s gonna pay for his tuition? Isn’t there some less expensive option? Why is she pissed again? Is that guy working behind my back to fuck me over and take my job? Am I risking my career and everything I worked for, if I decide to…?
Millions and millions of questions, each and every revolving around the same axle – money!
And then they say how money is not that important, right? Maybe they are right, but have you ever seen an unhappy person on a jet ski?
But the problem is not the money per se. It’s about what is included in the equation to acquire that money.
In urban lifestyle, where you’re selling your labor for a paycheck, the induced stress is wreaking havoc in your body. You live in a defense mode, without any real time to fully relax. You’re always on a lookout, trying to figure will that and that endanger your financial existence in some way.
We are not built nor supposed to spend any extended period of time in defense mode!
And that’s what’s been causing the anxiety and frequent falling into the acute state of depression – especially if you don’t see the way to pay your bills or mortgage!
But that’s not all. We now know something we didn’t know back in 70s and 80s.
You see, cortisol is one aggressive chemical substance. Its underlying role is to shut down all secondary mechanisms and trigger the adrenaline and insulin.
We are talking about your defense mechanism, which is better known as “fight-or-flight” response. That mechanism has only one purpose – to save your life and prevent any damage to your physical and mental state.
It was never intended to stay ON for days, weeks, months and even years.
By shutting down the secondary mechanisms, such as the hair growth, nails growth and working memory, cortisol also prevents the normal regeneration of the cells. Because, that’s not vital when there’s some life and death situation.
You have to realize that your brain doesn’t distinguish “modern” from “primitive” as some folks like to think. It’s all just the threat; plain and simple. And there’s only one mechanism that can be utilized, no matter what caused the disturbance – the good old defense mechanism!
Your defense mechanism never gets turned off. No one’s does entirely. Then again, there are several levels of the so called standby mode.
If you imagine a 5-stage mechanism, normal activity would be 1, while yours is revolving around 3.
Since there is no regeneration, your soft tissue suffers direct damage. Kidney, liver, heart, lungs, pancreas, stomach, bowels – everything you are, depends on a normal cell regeneration. If that process is slowed down through the activity of your defense mechanism, you have a serious problem.
Sooner or later, you’ll turn to medical experts, trying to figure out why the hell can’t you sleep, piss, eat like a normal human being, have sex, laugh, be happy??!!
It’s because of the cortisol overexposure which you brought on yourself – willingly!
It has nothing to do with sodas, sugars, salt, fast food, grilled meat, alcohol (if not abused of course), hell even cigarettes and tobacco in general. The former is just a neat way, used by the governments, to fill the treasury, nothing more.
IT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE INCREASED STRESS.
That same stress is caused by your decision to move to the city and get the job!
Grow something, anything; or breed something, anything at all, and you’ll see how happy you’ll be. That’s the stress-free environment. And you can’t say anything that would prove me wrong because you didn’t even give it a shot!
For you can only truly know what you have experienced. Everything else is just an assumption that may, or may not be the accurate one!
You and I, both in our 40s, are living in two parallel worlds, only a mile away from each other in reality. But I’m not popping any kind of pills and my bloodwork turned out to be perfect on my last exam. What about yours?
If it’s any consolation to you, I started my adult life in a city also, working as a cop and doing all sorts of stuff on a side to make ever more money and cover my debts. I lived your life, yes.
Then, one day, after years of struggle, I opened my eyes to see the reality. I recalled how my late grandpa lived:
- Only few miles from the urban area, having no more than 2 acres of land, living free.
Free to choose when to get up, when to do some work and when to take a break. No boss, no supervisor and with the most of the year without any need to work. Only to relax and move freely.
It took me years to realize it, yes. But I did eventually. It turns out that, when all things are considered, living in some small village, miles away from the nearest urban center, beats the urban lifestyle in many different categories – happiness, health and longevity being the three most important!
Something to think about at least.
Good luck and all the best to you. Enjoy the things I produce. It’s for you J
