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Mickey Z
Cool Observer
the Department of Homeland Security.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
The murdering of our years
Some excerpts from my mostly ignored book, The Murdering of My Years: Artists & Activists Making Ends Meet:
Gary: Don’t quit your day job. The tough part about quitting the rat race and becoming an artist, or whatever, is that even if you have talent, it often takes an inordinate amount of time for anyone to appreciate your talent or, more importantly, for you to be able to make any money from it. There’s not much point starving yourself into submission and climbing back onto the rat race ladder but in an even worse position.
Russ: Brace yourself for comments from friends, family, and acquaintances about your little hobby, which of course isn’t a real job, even if it brings in enough money for you to scrape by. In my case, I know people who seem to think that 400-page books just write themselves. Spending ten hours a day (often more) pounding out books and articles isn’t really work. This attitude can be upsetting, but at the core, they’re right. To paraphrase Edison, if you enjoy what you’re doing, it’s not work.
A.D.: You are probably not going to become famous. I know you don’t believe me, because you’re different, right? You’re really talented, and really dedicated, and really special. Well, the truth is, that’s what everyone thinks. Truth is, you are really not special. You’re subject to the same universal laws as everyone else: odds are you will not be canonized or recognized on the street or showered with adoration and wealth. However perhaps, not in the middle of your life, but at the end of your life, you will look back and see that fame, fortune, and accolades do not matter. What matters is that you have given the time you had on earth to the pursuit of living meaningfully, to shedding some light on this strange and hurtful human existence, to making the world a better place. You have not passed your time on earth simply acquiring as much stuff as possible, staring blankly at a TV screen, converting products to garbage, producing junk that no one needs, tricking people out of a buck or two, or letting your intellect and talents rot.
Rachel: Each person has to decide what’s most important to them: money, security, autonomy, free time, health, routine, spontaneity. We start out programmed to some degree or another, making choices we’re steered to, or trained to make. It takes time and luck to be able to discover what your preferences are, what really motivates you, and then to arrange things so that these can be honored or lived by.
Buk sez: “I always resented all the years, the hours, the minutes I gave them as a working stiff. It actually hurt my head, my insides, it made me dizzy and a bit crazy. I couldn’t understand the murdering of my years.”
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