Are you a Farmer or a Hunter?

"And there is no greater waste than a man spend his entire life on the field planting corn to eat. Then one day his body does not respond anymore and he lies down waiting for death to come."

From Don Juan Teachings, Carlos Castaneda.

In his teachings Don Juan spoke constantly of the warrior and the hunter who must have an impeccable spirit accumulating personal power.

Then this personal power is used at the right time and with the right measure, without "abusing the world," that is, without taking more than you need.

The farmer

The farmer is the consumer who works just to eat. In our modern world we are much like that: Working for a paycheck watching the hours pass by, just to pay the monthly bills.

As we always "hunger" for material things, we work to "eat" (buy more things) and accumulate more. And so we run all the time.
We complain that prices rise and taxes too, and that politicians are corrupt and how bad this world is.

We join all kinds of protest movements thinking that we are not like the other sheep. But we do not move a finger to give motivation to our everyday life and change. We do not like changes, change of territory, or change of customs.

Until one day the body does not respond anymore and we just wait for retirement to come.

The hunter

The hunter kills only when he is hungry (buys things only when needed) and has no schedules.

Image courtesy of [Poulsen Photo] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The hunter instinct moves him. He knows where ad when hi next victim will pass by (knows how to seize the best opportunities and take advantage of them).

The hunter travels light and buys few things, but they are valuable and useful things that help him to move forward.

He likes discovering new territories and finding new partners and friends, though there are not that much people were he is.

The hunter is not waiting for retirement to come, because he gets what he he wants when he needs it.
He already provides for the future knowing that his future wellbeing depends only on himself.

... The art of a hunter is becoming inaccessible. Being inaccessible means to touch as little as possible the world around you. And this does not mean hiding or walk with secrets. Nor does it mean that you can not deal with people ... A hunter does not have routines ...

... The life of a warrior can not possibly be cold and lonely and without feelings, because it is based on his affection, his devotion, his dedication to his beloved one: the Earth ...

... Feeling important makes one heavy, dumb and vain. To be a warrior one needs to be light and fluid ...

... A warrior takes responsibility for his actions. Even the most trivial. An average man never takes responsibility for what he does ...

(More quotes from Don Juan)

And you, are you a farmer or a hunter?