Deep, yes, but bang-on. Brilliant, really. I think what you say has always rung true for me, but I’ve never really had it laid out for me like that. I want to spend my final day not horizontal but vertical, trying to hike my trusty cane up a local mountain. ;-\

I really, really don’t understand people who prioritize THINGS above TIME. This is inherently self-degrading. My free time (leisure time, time to dream, time to create, time to relax, time to appreciate art, time to quietly reflect, time to write, hell, time to just kill) will ALWAYS come before THINGS (consumer goods, material goods, “wants”, “playthings” etc.) Now, I understand that people have different priorities and values… we’re all different, and that’s what makes us interesting, I suppose. But on some existential level… I have to wonder: Is the inability to value one’s time (rather than hyper-accumulating Things) simply an inability to accept one’s inevitable departure from this world? Do people who have an acquisitive mentality towards life have an inherent denial of death, and thus seek to “escape” into their goods, which are for all intents and purposes replacements for “immortality” (objects do not “die” after all, although they do depreciate! )

I know, heavy stuff, but the question begs to be asked. As for me, I accepted in inevitabiliy of my death a long time ago, and I want to fill my life with TIME, not Things. FI is the first step in claiming complete ownership of one’s Time.

This post was included in the Running Blog Carnival #2008-05 this week.

Cheers

@adfecto - Well, we’re completely opposite. I want my “house”/shelter to be as small as possible, and since I only live once, I don’t want to spend most of my life in pursuit of things. I don’t like vehicles I can’t carry, putting three letters after my name wasn’t really all that cool (I’m Dr. on my credit card statement and airline tickets, but that’s it, my diploma is in my safe, not on my wall). I have been all over the globe, okay, technologically advanced countries only, and they’re mostly the same. I’d like to see some of the southern hemisphere though. I’m more of a participant than a spectator, and I’m also more of a DIY guy than a consumer - I built my own amp (20W stereo class B) which was kinda neat. And if I ever have children I’m not going give give them anything but a sense of work ethics and a dose of skepticism.

@randall - On bad days I would say that my vocation is similar. It is a treadmill and it is about doing the same thing in slightly different ways indeed. I suspect it is symptomatic of a society where all progress is quantified.

@thrifty canadian - I had to google “the lattice work”, but yes. I think this is really what I’m drawn to now. If one goes through a standard education, a lot of what is initially taught is technical skills. One can basically say that a bachelor’s degree teaches the “how”. A master’s degree teaches the “what”. A PhD supposedly teaches the “why”. And I think I got that. And maybe I got that maybe just a little bit too much, because in my research I have always been more interested in seeing the larger connections and deriving analogies than what is generally rewarded in a career like mine. Investing seems to be different though. Here lateral thinking can be highly useful.
I am sorely tempted to get Munger’s book now. I probably will.

@scott - I’ve been reading your blog for almost a year now actually. It actually inspired me to substitute the hiking boots and the water bottle with a pair of running shoes and a camelbak. For me .. after going through grad school almost physically inactive, I picked up power endurance as a way to let out steam but also to get the mind-body connection back. I think many scientists think of their body merely as a vehicle that transports their brains around. I was getting to be like that. For me getting bleeding blisters from the workouts actually made me feel alive again. Endurance runs have a similar feel. Maybe when the brain becomes something that merely sits on top of the body and goes along for the ride it balances things out.

I’m a big fan of the simple life too, but am an admitted full-blown capitalist. I tried the big car, big house thing, but as many of us learn, materialism is fleeting in its ability to fulfill the soul. But I do enjoy creating technologies that move industries, create jobs, and make deserving employees wealthy. That wealth creates choice, whether it is for a simple life or not, and that is powerful.

Thanks for the link…keep up the great blog!

SD

I’ve often though about getting out and figuring a way to live cheaper. It hasn’t happened yet, but that doesn’t mean it won’t soon.