is it possible....(a financial question) preferably an older audience

is it possible to make your creative dreams a reality, without hampering the success of your life or the life of a potential family?

is happiness in our society just idealism or can it be attained?

 

First question - yes.
I had a dream about a math model problem and when I woke up I built it.
I still have it ( physically in my hands) and I have now spent ten+ years trying to figure it out.

2nd - only you can create your own happiness, but, Yes it can be obtained.

 

I think so.. but you need to determine what that dream is first, and then work towards and also believe that it can happen. We posted this quote on our fridge: If you can dream it, and believe it, you can achieve it.

We want to be able to invest and then retire in at age 50 and we did. We live in a custom designed house that we built that is now worth half a million dollars (of course, that doesn't mean much because we can't sell it in this market), but we live in the country, with wild deer in our yard and eagles over head and views of the water, mountains and trees.

You do have to make some sacrifices... we don't travel, go to movies, concerts, etc... although we do splurge on books.

This was our dream, and we were able to make it happen. My husband has a side business where me makes cedar wood planter boxes which allows him to be creative and make a little money and I have time to write, I've even published one book. We are expanding our garden so we can be more self reliant.

Focus on what you want and don't listen to people who tell you that you can't have it.

 

thanks a lot guys...
i'm really just nervous for the future of my life because i'm in college and i'm deciding to either go into pharmacy or creative writing. i just hope that, if i do end up teaching or publishing a book or any other ambition, i will be able to support not only myself but also a family. i just don't want to live in regret if I decide to do either.
your support is very much appreciated

 

That question you posted really caught my attention as I have just done gone and done that. I was married. I was manager of liquor stores, but I felt that I could make a better contribution to society and my community than providing it with alcohol. I worked for a magazine which I conceived, wrote, photographed, edited and distributed. Unfortunately, and this had often been the case with me, my boss had his hand in the petty cash and was a dodgy businessman. The magazine closed, despite my calculations that we ought to be making good money. I ran a cinema as a film club and perservered with that for four years. All these jobs mentioned kept me from home and family and ultimately that caused huge problems. Yes, I am now recently (9 months) divorced.

Is that bad? I don't know, really. I am much happier now than I was although the loss of my family still is a bitter pill. The most important thing I learnt is that you must be happy in yourself before you can make a family happy. Although I stayed on at the liquor store and was a good provider, I was not happy - I was Miserable!!!!! and the family kind of resented that.

Make yourself happy by following a dream and everything will fall into place. Don't do something you are going to hate doing because then you will not be able to enjoy having a family. You spend the majority of your time at your work and only the leisure time with what is important, so make your work a happy one and you will find happiness. And dignity.

 

dance for gaia,

it makes me happy to see that you have such a positive outlook on life

i often have trouble seeing past my current obstacles, which are usually soaked in pessimism. i just hope that my "fantasy world of life happiness" will one day become a reality and not just something to wish for. i'd like to believe that we, as humans, all have the potential to be great and that it is only a matter of time and experience for the this potential to shine through...

once again thanks for the support and also the respect. i felt slightly intimidated coming to the "old hippie" forum but i felt that this is where the true answers are held and i seemed to be right

thanks all

 

Hi, im 14 and Im going into my GCSE exams(if anyone on this site is in America and doesnt know what GCSEs are in the uk theyre basically BIG EXAMS, sorry if I sound Ignorant), Im doing science, but Im really torn, because I know that my mum wants me to do it so I can get rich. But I dont care about money, because I bellieve it just causes greed and evil and I also bellieve that only nature knows the answer to existence, but I need to know if there is a way that I can bellieve in science and yet still folloe my belliefs in spirits and nature

Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeee Please PLEASE PLEASE help me

peace and love James

 

Congratulations!!! I am so glad to read about people who could make it.
And I'm sure you sacrificed significantly in order to be able to make it, too. Ours is a cruel world and tough life, so I guess the first thing one needs to determine is the purpose of his being here. Emphasize "his".
Otherwise one can end up with the feeling that he'd been chasing after wind all through his life.
Yes, dreams are our moving power. But some of them just turn out to be futile and deceptive in the long run. That, I think, is a good thing to consider BEFORE and not AFTER.

 

That's very true. You need to do what you want to do, not what someone else wants you to do or be.

If you life includes a significant other, you need to decide together as to what is important and what isn't.

 

Everything you do in life, even if it doesn't work out, is a lesson to learn. Sometimes even the bitter experiences can have a silver lining to it.

My parents were married to each other for 23 years and then divorced. Sounds like a failure, right? But it's not. Their union produced three children and they both went on to remarry within a year of their divorce, and both have been married now for 36 years. My dad will be turning 80 in August. He was a beatnik in the late 50's and early 60's (forerunner of the hippies) and even with Parkinson's Disease, he still roller blades and windsurfers.

So try to see your divorce is just one of the many portals that we go through in life.:cheers2:

 

No law that says you can't do both... study for a degree in pharmacy and do creative writing on the side.

 

You are a wise and open minded person. Thank for trusting in our experience. I know in time you will do the same for someone else.

Namaste!:grouphug:

 

Hi something vague, here is another view from an older (well by years) ... this is a good question and many great answers you got.

What is your dream ?

Maybe it is about to just break through the pessimistic layer, and bless whatever is in front of you, and tap into the awareness that there's always an abundance to learn from and grow with ... for all the rest of your life and all the other life times too that sit here waiting for you.

As you are the one who creates all these things, included your life conditions and how you view them - and none else will hamper you but your own fears of failure.

You may find that your dream holds more dreams, like the seed inside a fruit that is ripe now; and even as you grow on, these dreams will grow as well, and come to manifestation to blossom inside and around you ... and eventually let you go again. And this is your real creative power; it will always help you to find a tool to express. It starts right here ... not in some vague future.

In this society, the idea of happiness is much abused - warped - in order to keep society function ... it became a tool to keep its co-dependant structure, rather than true happiness which does not come from outside sources - like money, career, worldly success - but comes with your life journey, like another poster (Dance for Gaia) stated - loved this story.

It's like with the donkey and the carot ... how to attain what is not ment to be yours ... but at least the donkey learned to run (and maybe this was his dream). And so, you may succeed without the need for success, and be happy without hunting for happiness, and just live fully inside your own dream (and yup take all these bitter pills as medicine) ... be true to your own self, and just walk in the love of your own being and of all the others around.

Become who you are - be a happy traveler - and i wish you joy, and love.

 

thank you everyone for talking me through this...i guess there's a difference between reaffirming my views in my own mind and hearing the diverse responses listed above. as much as i could tell myself that i could find happiness within, i never really believed it. after hearing all of you contribute to and solidify my thoughts, i think i have been dramatically altered. although i have many steps still to take on this path, the support and guidance i have received within these past few days has been priceless. thank you all for demonstrating the wisdom that i hope to one day hold in my own mind. i guess its never too late to be find happiness.

 

What about the natural sciences. Zoology, Geology, Botany, Astrology. The physical and chemical sciences are not wrong they just haven't made the connection with the spiritual experience just yet, but they're getting there.

 

Follow your bliss.
When I was able to do art and work for the band I had nothing but
was the happiest Ive ever been in my whole life. Ive had OK jobs
and had all the prerequisite material objects but none of that could
ever replace total inner peace and happiness of using my talents
for me and not being soul crushed in an office or factory.
Its a lot of work and happens when the Universe allows it, not when you
want it to, but if you can wait out the periods of dissapointment and
apprehension it will be worth it. I found too, that working for yourself
starts a chain of work......one job always leads to another, and another,
so on...............
Beat wishes on fulfilling your dreams

 

I feel I must mention something here, in order to shed light on both sides now.
Positive outlook? That's crucial if one wants to succeed; I hope you'll learn it through your own life.

I have learned, however, that happiness, as you imagine it when young, is a far cry from what your happiness turns out when you really find it. Therefore, be ready to change your mind, dear something vague -- that is one of the important keys to happiness, as I see it. People seldom mention this, but if you ask them, they will admit the great difference between the real happiness they found in their lives and one they dreamed of or imagined.

True, you can often hear someone say smth like:"You know, this is what I always wanted to accomplish, and now that I have accomplish this, I really AM happy!". Obviously, this world DOESN'T have enough space for everyone to accomplish "what he originally wanted to accomplish". Well, and how about those, who DIDN'T accomplish "what they always wanted to accomplish" and still found their happiness ... in some other thing or activity? Consider this one, too.

So, dear something vague, our world dictates its reality; it may not be able to "offer" us that which we expected. And this world is changing around us dramatically, especially today: "Times, they are a-changing!". Me personally, I found my happiness after I learned about the real meaning of human life, for that put me in balance with the rest of the world by giving a good explanation and showing me the way, whereby going I am happy, whatever changes may take place.

 

Good answers to the main post.

Let me say a couple of words to this question:

Firstly, science actually has nothing to say about spiritual matters. Science is a tool for figuring out how the physical worlds works. No more, no less. Spiritual matters exist on a different level. They should not conflict.

Secondly, money is just a tool. It is neutral. How you use it and what you let it do to you determines it's moral value. You can use money for great good or for great evil. You do not need to become filthy-rich to be happy in this world, but if you plan to get along in society, you need "enough" money. How much that is depends on you. You might feel better about it if you think of money as an easy way of dealing fairly and honorably with other folks.

 

Remember that this is just my opinion and that the opinion is based on my own life. Everyone is different, so what works for me might not work for someone else.

In the 70s I set a lofty goal far above what I should have. I have always had good luck achieving set goals, but the new goal was as a dream to be the mother of all creative dreams.

I spent over thirty years of turmoil and financial ups and downs to make the dream come true. My life is nearing its end, and it seems as if the whole of my life was spent on the dream, and the question is asked to myself, was it worth it? The answer is always “yes”.

It is my opinion that a person has the choice to fulfill a dream, or die with the regret of not having tried. Even if your dream of writing does not come true, at least you will have given it your best. The writing business is steadily growing smaller since there are fewer readers, and a dream of writing may require substantial effort to accomplish.

But still, is the dream of a family a higher goal than writing? If the caring for a family is more important, then it is ok to let go of the writing dream and know that you chose the higher goal.

Happiness can only exist at the personal level, and unfortunately there are too many people that choose anger and destruction for society as a whole to achieve happiness. In time we might be able to protect Nature from man, but we cannot protect man from himself. With enough time, maybe someday, maybe, man will evolve to become a more rational creature and then discover a global happiness. We just have to keep the planet alive long enough for that to happen.

 

Knowledge of Nature is beneficial for everyone that desires to protect Nature. Greed is incorrect behavior and thought, but knowledge of fact is blameless.

But you did say something that is very important to recognize; "believe in science". Modern society does demand a religious-like belief in science, but it is important that a person only accepts as fact what can be proven by themselves, and to not put a faith in science itself. Facts are facts, whether the facts are about Nature or spirit. "Science" is just a word, and science is not to be believed in; only believe in facts that you yourself can verify as true.

Nature dictates that gravity will make rocks fall to the earth unless sufficient force pushes the rock beyond the pull of gravity. Science is not the teacher, Nature is. Nature is the one that dictates what is true, not science.

"You will find something more in woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from teachers." Saint Bernard (1090 - 1153)