We CAN slow down: “Earn less, spend less, emit and degrade less. That’s the formula . . .”

[jose v]

So what would happen if everyone that worked five day weeks  started to work four days instead? Or six hours instead of eight. Or,  the ideal, for me, five hours a day, at any time of day, any day of the  week. That’s about all I can concentrate, and I’m doing work that I love  (and don’t need to get paid for). And BTW: even during those years when  I did need to “make money” doing work I loved, I made sure that I  didn’t need to make much. What’s always counted for me most was to be  able to think, and dream, and study.

What about all those people who are doing work that they hate, or  that they find meaningless, or totally against their values, just to  support a highly consumptive lifestyle that, if they weren’t so busy  “making money,” they might easily downsize, or at least think about it,  have time to contemplate alternatives. Who has time to think in this  crazy, out of control frenzy of a culture?

There are now two CVA drugstores within a half mile of me,  dispensing anti-depressive medication to all and sundry. I’m reminded of  a friend who says that he’s been on anti-depressants since the ’90s,  because, he said, he found himself feeling murderous inside his family  life, and knew that wasn’t okay. Now, he says, spreading his hands  horizontally across the table between us, I feel flat. No feelings.  Nothing.

This is an article from which we all might benefit. Thanks to YES! Magazine.

Less Work, More Living

Working fewer hours could save our economy, save our sanity, and help save our planet.

 

Millions of Americans have lost control over the basic rhythm of  their daily lives. They work too much, eat too quickly, socialize too  little, drive and sit in traffic for too many hours, don’t get enough  sleep, and feel harried too much of the time. It’s a way of life that  undermines basic sources of wealth and well-being—such as strong family and community ties, a deep sense of meaning, and physical health.

Imagining a world in which jobs take up much less of our time may seem utopian, especially now, when a scarcity mentality dominates  the economic conversation. People who are employed often find it  difficult to scale back their jobs. Costs of medical care, education,  and child care are rising. It may be hard to find new sources of income when U.S. companies have been laying people off at a dizzying rate.

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