Jeremy Bernier

What is Living?

October 30, 2018

mountain

Today I swam in a waterfall, drove through the countryside, and climbed up this mountain to just chill. Yesterday I went to a canyon and watched the sunset.

sunset

In NYC I always felt like I constantly had to be doing something - work, making money, working on a side project, upgrading my skills, researching, learning, competing, etc.

Too many of us live in a permanent state of delayed gratification, losing the ability to just sit still and enjoy the present. That’s one thing I love about travel - it takes you out of your autopilot routine and forces you into the present.

As great as it is that capitalism has helped bring us all these fancy toys, I don’t think there’s any denying that western culture has become toxic. Mindless consumerism, every man for himself mentality, competing against each other in this ridiculous rat race. Our humanity has been stripped from us and replaced with mortgage debt.

What the hell does it even mean to be human?

I don’t have the answer to that question. But I know what ISN’T human. Commuting an hour a day to some meaningless office job you hate is not living like a human, it’s living like a zoo animal.


Jeremy Bernier

Written by Jeremy Bernier who left the NYC rat race to travel the world, work remotely, and make the world a better place.