Hunter-Gatherer at Tesco
What bothers you the most nowadays? It might be some foreign country’s president halfway across the world making another absurd statement (let’s not point fingers). Perhaps you don’t have enough money to live the life you dream about — which is, frankly, all the money (at least). Or, maybe, if you admit it to yourself — it is the lack of validation and respect you get from people.
But does it all matter?
How did people live for 99% of the human existence (300k years)? Especially before farming had spread (the negligible last 5k-10k years) – yep, hunters and gatherers. The goals in life were pretty straightforward: get food, maybe save a bit for winter, build a hut and wrestle a couple of bears. Find a partner and make more hunters and gatherers, yes. Sure, there was a dominance hierarchy — but it was built on skills and strengths, not on lies, politics, and social games.
What am I trying to say? life was… straightforward. Don’t get me wrong, it was tough. But people worked as teams, actually cared for each other. They worked on immediate needs, not two-year-old projects in an office somewhere. And I bet they were happy. They felt happy (with dopamine flowing like vodka on a Russian wedding) every time they brought home a chunk of mammoth. And even more so when sharing this food, sitting by the fire together. The friendliest, most reliable and honest were chosen as leaders, as role models.
(The last two paragraphs are based on the epic book “Humankind: A Hopeful History” by Rutger Bregman)
So I believe their lives were so much fuller than ours. Yes, everything is safe now: food is in the Tesco around the corner, shelter — just rent it. It all comes down to money — and you need plenty. For that you need to work, doing stuff you don’t care about. That’s the only “survival” left in your life — and you are already sick of it.
When you’re not working — you are bored. Humans are naturally curious. We are driven by the desire to explore, we learn, we play, we improve the lives of those around us. So you invent new challenges just to stay alive. And you start looking for the next problem to solve (since they don’t come to you naturally anymore in this confortable convenient life).
Hm, what can I do for myself? My house could be bigger, I hardly squeeze my collections of shoes and traffic cones in it. Oh, and the clothes could be louder, to show ‘em all how bright and vibrant my personality is. And bleach the hair. No — pink! People around will finally see my deep inner world and validate me, accept me, and admire me!
But it’s all fake. None of it solves actual problems, none is urgent. It’s your curious resourceful self trying to pick up the next battle in the sterile world. Helping others is absurdly hard nowadays, especially in cities: everybody gets suspicious and tense if you do anything for free — it just doesn’t fit their worldview anymore. So you start endless self-improvement, which only inflates your ego, makes you focused on yourself.
So here you are. Fighting endless battles you don’t actually care about. You come up with a new goal, like going to the gym, losing weight, a new hobby. But none of it sticks: after a few days or weeks you give it up, feeling like a failure, weak and powerless. But that’s exactly that: you know deep inside, none of it matters. What’s interesting — you’ve never even consciously thought about it. You were handed the path, the script to live your life, which you never questioned. Ridiculous, isn’t it?!
And damn — the system is strong. The moment you resist the standard narrative — you lose the job, lose money, you can’t pay rent and buy food. The system rejects you. Not because you are lazy or weak — you would be happily hunting, foraging and building a small shelter in the woods. But it’s all forbidden. Land belongs to someone, the rules on hunting, fishing and foraging are very strict. Yep, the things our ancestors were doing for millions of years — are ripped away from our hands. You are forced to play by the rules set for you.
So, let me ask again. Are you truly free? How can you escape this mess? I found the answer for myself, but that’s a whole other story.
If you ever feel like reaching out — whether you have something to share, or just want to talk — I’d be happy to hear from you, stranger. This isn’t about followers. It’s about finding kindness and similar minded people in a loud world.