Sometimes it is easy for sci-fi/fantasy authors to write about exotic people without really understanding different cultures of their own world. They write about primitive people who are superstitious and usually … well, inept. I ran across this video by a very simple man named Jon Jandai who claims that life is easy – and “so simple.” While his english is not exquisite, his ideas are quite elegant and charming – as are the ideas of many people in cultures that are less “civilized” than our own. That’s why I wanted to share this post: it is both insightful as an author writing about different cultures and it is insightful as an individual who grew up being told that education was everything. I got my B.A. I got my J.D. I got my certificate allowing me to put “Esquire” on my letterhead. But after all of that, I think Jon Jandai has a better grasp on living a life of happiness than I do. I hope you enjoy the video. Let me know what you think by commenting below.
How profound! How true! America is more in bondage then it is free in this way than many other countries. In America, one can not even have a piece of ground without paying yearly money for it their whole life (property tax). One can not even get a piece of ground to use as their own without paying high amounts of money. One can not even gather materials themselves to build a house without paying money (even if they were to chop the tree themselves or dig dirt or gather water. One needs a license which costs money and then that license may only last a season). Yes, we do make things so complicated and yes, it is not normal, it is not right. Who is more in bandage and who is more free in their pursuit for happiness?
Though we do have a degree of bondage we can’t get away from for those of us that live in America, we can still choose to just not participate in a lot of it. We can choose to simplify our lives, stop trying to fit in with the people that live unhappy and complicated lives by trying to do the same things they do. Be brave enough to be different. Wouldn’t you be so much happier if you had more free time? …maybe even just by not having so much stuff. Is it not funny that many of us just want more than we already have? Why? Because we are not satisfied yet; we are not happy yet? Maybe you would be happiest by choosing to not want more things and by getting rid of a lot of the things you do have that complicate your life in the name of simplifying it.
I have found this to be true. I have to remind myself again and again because I am surrounded by a culture that would like to shape me otherwise. It is not just true in objects but also how our culture expects us to spend our time. Like the gentlemen said in the video clip: “you have to go to school” you have to do this or have that or you will get a negative label. That can be hard to receive that negative label, but only if you are not confident in your own thoughts on it. Hold onto truth …what is more true? What will really make you happier? What will really give you a better life?
I agree. Our culture has created more bondage than many of our ancestors endured even when they served as indentured servants or serfs. Many people work two jobs, long hours, or weekends just to make ends meet. While other countries may be more restricted in where they can go and what they can say, few have to work as hard as we do in industrialized countries who have succumbed to the idea that every facet of our lives should be regulated – whether that be housing ordinances, employment taxes, medical insurance, car insurance, or any other myriad of fetters we have to wear if we want to participate in our “civilized” society.