want to make a decent living, with a happy life

Originally Posted by rygoody

I went on this big venture to attempt to like disconnect from mainstream society, get into hippie-esque type living. Join a commune.

Then at the end of it I realized. It's not that I am leaving mainstream culture. Rather it's that I'm leaving them to die. If I wanna improve my life I have to focus on improving the whole. Sectioning myself off in a forest off the grid is not focusing on improving the whole. To improve the whole I have to stay with society, even though it may be diffucult.

You are focusing on improving the whole by "separating" from it and living in a commune. The commune is in fact part of the whole of society--we are all part of the whole because the earth is one. You are doing a lot more good for society if you stop contributing to anything wrong like global warming, deforestation, commercial agriculture, mining and resource extraction, violence and war, exploitation of foreign countries, etc, by separating yourself from society in order to live in a way where you are not so dependent on these things. There will be no reforming society from the top down and there are many people who do not wish to change. We should start at the grassroots by finding out how to live right ourselves in communes and intentional communities, and then teaching others, rather than trying to spread a way of life to the whole of society that we have not even practiced yet.

I believe that my decent living and happy life will be found in rural self-sufficiency. I already grow much of my own food and live in a small town. You don't need $20,000/year to be happy, what you need is other loving people and satisfying, moral work that does not destroy ourselves and the earth. That can be found in declaring independence from the system as much as possible.

I recommend my brother’s plan after he flunked out of college. He went to a 2 year horticulture program at a community college. Now he operates the city’s greenhouse and is in charge of most of the landscaping. He makes a decent living and seems like he has a pretty chill life.

Ah, every job ends up sucking no matter how much fun it was to start, people that say otherwise dont know any better, or they say they are happy but look miserable.

The more money people make the more they spend it on crap.

Get yourself the nice house car etc, then you loose all your friends cos they are pissed off you have it better than them.

Or you get the easy job sitting on your ass all day, which makes you fat and hate yourself for the way you look in the mirror.

Its all bullshit, people just say they are happy cos thats what they have to say, even Rock Stars get sick of living in hotel rooms and plane travel.

Since you're a chic breed like a rabbit live on Welfare and smoke pot and drink all day long. Those ones are just as happy if not more than the rest.

Yours Truly, Mr Cynical

Originally Posted by Vanilla Gorilla

Ah, every job ends up sucking no matter how much fun it was to start, people that say otherwise dont know any better, or they say they are happy but look miserable.

The more money people make the more they spend it on crap.

Get yourself the nice house car etc, then you loose all your friends cos they are pissed off you have it better than them.

Or you get the easy job sitting on your ass all day, which makes you fat and hate yourself for the way you look in the mirror.

Its all bullshit, people just say they are happy cos thats what they have to say, even Rock Stars get sick of living in hotel rooms and plane travel.

Since you're a chic breed like a rabbit live on Welfare and smoke pot and drink all day long. Those ones are just as happy if not more than the rest.

Yours Truly, Mr Cynical

You have a really warped view of reality. I can imagine a kid posting that, but a 37-year-old? (if you really are 37) You must have made some terrible life choices, and not learned anything from them to boot.

I studied herbal medicine and massage therapy and I use what I've learned every day but I don't charge money; just help out family and friends. I do something else for a living.

BTW I am from Sonoma County and I just joined. This is my first post... Hi everyone!

Originally Posted by Rigamarole

You have a really warped view of reality. I can imagine a kid posting that, but a 37-year-old? (if you really are 37) You must have made some terrible life choices, and not learned anything from them to boot.

I would like you to go the the front page of the hip boards, scroll down and read the names of the forums and sub-forums, and read the topics you posted your 1,637 posts in, and then re-analyze your 'you have a really warped veiw of reality' statement. A lot of people in the outside world would tell you the same thing... Who are you to judge his view? His staement is purely opinion, and so is yours. Don't try and make yours fact.


Oh yeah, I was suppose to tell you, your assumptions of people will and already have damged relationships in your life. If that means anything to ya P: ..

Originally Posted by PhazeDaze

I would like you to go the the front page of the hip boards, scroll down and read the names of the forums and sub-forums, and read the topics you posted your 1,637 posts in, and then re-analyze your 'you have a really warped veiw of reality' statement. A lot of people in the outside world would tell you the same thing... Who are you to judge his view? His staement is purely opinion, and so is yours. Don't try and make yours fact.


Oh yeah, I was suppose to tell you, your assumptions of people will and already have damged relationships in your life. If that means anything to ya P: ..

What the hell are you talking about? Are you stalking me? I've made a lot of posts in the Love & Sex forums, if that's what you're referring to. I'd need you to point to specific things I've said which would compel "a lot of people in the outside world to tell me the same thing" though. And damaged relationships in my life? WTF?

I love the mountains and the seasons... wanna trade for my house in Florida?

To the O.P.

Step #1: (And it can be very tricky) Learn to be happy where you're at regardless of what you're doing. Learn to be thankfull for the fact you're still sucking air

Step #2: Examine the thing's which interest you most, enroll in some lowball community college course's in a number of field's which involves some of your likes

During step two, work allot of different job's, get your feet wet in as many different industries and buisnesses related to the aformentioned interests as this depressed economy will allow you to. And be sure to take notes of the new interests which will arise during this process.

Step #3: Never hang onto a job that makes you miserable just because the pay is good. Misery lead's to stress which only lead's to health problems.

One idea which you might find appealing is to travel the Rennisance fair circuit, there are a wide range of vendors there where you can develop a wide range of skills provided you have sucessfully acheived Step 1 and are sociable. Most of the shops make stuff so you can get hands on experience with a wide range of materials, maybe even find something (or thing's) you like to make yourself in the process.

The Ren fairs will also introduce you to a divers collection of some pretty eclectic personalities, perhaps a mentor or two you can take some "directional pointers" for your life from?

I'd guess the same could be said for traveling carnivals aside from the fact that all they sell is food and no one makes anything but you will get ton's of sales experience or perhaps an apprenticeship fixing rides?

Or perhaps one day as you pass by the Grand Canyon you might suddenly realize your calling is to be a Geologist,,,

Bottom line you're only 18, you have time. Dont rush into a decision, be patient and flexible and you will find what's right for you.

I did exactly what you are talking about, when I was 18 I didnt want to do all the "core" classes (English, Science, Math) again in college. So, my local college offered Massage Therapy. At my age, it was AMAZING. It opens your mind to a lot of other avenues of healthcare and tunes you in to the body and how it works. Wow, in my class, our "business" teacher did a meditation before class started. You will most likely get a certificate, and in some colleges you may get an Associates Degree in Massage Therapy or natural healing or some other form of alternative therapy.
Either way, it is a nice and relatively inexpensive education. My advice is to check out your options for schools. some teach better than others, with more things to learn about (which is better because when you go to get hired it helps to have a broad spectrum of experiences.) And also, Massage Therapy is a growing field. In my small town, the local hospital hired a girl from my class. They only pay $20.00 an hour, but they have great benefits. Check out the average pay in your area. It's got potential.