Thanks, Tad for continuing this subject. I was poor and homeless when I came of age, because I came from an abusive family and my father was rich, but had no interest in helping me out, so I with no more than a high school diploma I started working minimum wage jobs at 18. At first, since I was both an art major and a science major in high school I landed a plaster casting job in Berlin, NJ where I worked as a plaster caster, of all things. I liked the work because it was art related.
Later when I evacuated southern New Jersey due to it pollution and moved to Tucson I found a minimum wage factory job in a sheet metal factor. What I like about the job is the work was routine, so I didn't have to engage my massively screwed up mind. It was a time when I was just beginning my contemplative life, so I could keep my mind still and in the present moment with that factory labor job. It worked great for me to not dwell upon the miserable childhood that I survived.
Then, out of necessity, I started studying the contemplative arts and ethnomedicine and ethnobotony, and nutrition to treat my undiagnosed autoimmune condition, which brought me to counseling others, which for a contemplative it was a pretty good employment strategy, but it didn't pay enough to get married and raise a family, which I wanted to do, because I like children. They have such a joyful nature that I liked being around them, before they became massively dysfunctional adults. But, it was a huge mistake.
Due to the necessities of supporting a family I had to leave the health, healing and contemplative consulting and get a real job. Because of my background in art and plaster art I ended up working at the San Francisco Podiatry hospital making orthotics. From there I moved into quality control at a food processing factory in San Francisco, due to my interest and background in the sciences. This brought me to working at Chevron Research, but it was a really toxic environment for me to work in. It was there that I started developing asthma, which I have since come to realize was due to my autoimmune system encapsulating inhaled toxins. From there I ended up back in Tucson working for 3.5 years doing research in astronomy and optical sciences. I liked the research and instrument design work because I could focus my mind on a problem and avoid dwelling upon my miserable childhood and abusive family.
So, back to your question, as long as you have family to support, then you will need to bring down enough money to provide for your family and if you don't then there will be conflict, which is what I dealt with, which was a constant need to bring in more income as the children grew up and to placate the wife.
Now days there is quite a lot of well-paid employment in remote working at home doing customer service and other occupations, which could really work for a contemplative. One logs in when one is not meditating. Works whatever hours one wants, and there is no ego-filled boss who is going to make your life miserable.
So, for someone who is dedicated to leading a contemplative life, I find live alone, and not having the responsibility of children, wife, and family, more conducive to the contemplative life.
