Your quality of life is deteriorating on a Hamster Wheel

American’s live their lives on a hamster wheel!

By: Dr. Samori Swygert

Originally published on: http://financialjuneteenth.com/dr-samori-swygert-your-quality-of-life-is-deteriorating-on-the-hamster-wheel/

Are you a hamster?

We conveniently quantize the availability of time by asserting that there are 24 hours in a day.

Time can’t be recouped in respect to human life expectancy, which is finite. Personally, I don’t really believe in time. I think what we describe as time is just a continuum of existence, and we created time to gauge, measure, and chronicle our level of activity while alive. When we die, the world doesn’t die, it continues in perpetuity as we rest six feet below the ground. With that out of the way…

We can examine the rise in suicides, homicides, mass shootings, depression and other mental illnesses that have surged in record numbers. The quality of life has gone down for the average American. The idea of enjoying life and all its wonders has been substituted with a stressful and monotonous Hamster wheel of “swim or sink.”

American society has rapidly progressed, transformed, and matured. A true stratification of human life has emerged and become more pronounced. Earth is a finite mass with limited resources. Corporations, foundations, family lines, and government influence have pretty much claimed control, and the remaining resources and capital are being hoarded with speed.

The average American citizen finds it harder and harder to live a comfortable life.

Let’s analyze the metrics of a 24 hour day for some working parents:

Sleep– it’s recommended that you get at least 6-8 hours of sleep each day (meaning 18 or 16 hours are left of your day)
Commute– the average American spends at least 1 hour in round trip traffic commutes (meaning you have only 17 or 15 hours left of your day)
Work– most people will work an 8, 10, or 12 hour shift (meaning you have between 5 and 9 hours left in your day)
Health and fitness– research recommend at least 30 minutes to an hour a day of exercise (meaning you have about 4 to 8 hours left in your day)
Children– if you have babies or young children, you have to feed them, prepare bottles, wash and iron clothing, cook, bathe, change diapers, nurse them, maintain a clean house, or help with homework and check homework, take them to extracurricular activities (sports, music lessons, scouts, choir rehearsal, etc), that can easily take 4 hours in the blink of an eye ( so that may be some people’s 24 hours)

PAUSE…………..

When do you stop to factor in quality time for your mate, time to work on your own dreams, goals, hobbies, and personal projects?

When do you have “quality family time,” not just “maintenance family time”?

When do you sit and find some plain old “me time”?

When do you have time to enjoy your friends and other family members?

Now let’s compound all of this for a single parent. What type of stress does this conundrum create and exert on the single parent’s mind? This can be overwhelming, exhausting, and burdensome. However, this is the reality for the majority of Americans today.

This is nothing but a Hamster wheel; yet, simultaneously, it’s a Ferris wheel for the wealthy. The uber rich have accumulated so much wealth that their lifestyle isn’t constrained or confined to these social parameters.

The average American citizen works so the wealthy won’t have to work. Major deals, contracts, and agreements are conducted via wireless communication on a private jet while flying to their private island to have brunch. Laborious tasks aren’t even a thought because “the help” conduct those tasks and activities. Their quality of life is great. They can’t fathom the mental turmoil nor the taxing physiological toll of the American employee from their pinnacle or apex. The socially oppressive carnage below is almost a myth because they’re exempt from it.

A Ferris wheel

A Ferris wheel is an enjoyable entertainment apparatus. It allows the rider to experience life below and then raises them above for a sustained period of time to admire the expansive wonder, beauty, and splendor of the surrounding horizon. This is done effortlessly, it’s devoid of any exertion or expenditure of physical energy.

A Hamster wheel

A Hamster wheel is an apparatus constructed to entertain the owner of the hamster and keep the rodent’s time occupied while confined in a small space. The hamster expends and exerts energy in a routine cycle, but NEVER ascends to higher heights of enjoyment or change in spatial perspective. When you examine most hamster cages, they’re only comprised of food, water, floor material, and… that ominous wheel.

HOWEVER, if the hamster was smart, it would figure out how to break the sides of the wheel and stretch it into a ladder for freedom. How can we use the little free time we have within a 24 hour cycle to create our ladder to freedom?

Currently I’m a hamster breaking the sides of my wheel.