Monday 15 April 2013

What Matters Most?

In continuation from my last blog, I was thinking about what I had written about people working harder for what they can buy than what they can feel, when it hit me.

I finally realised the problem with our society today, from where I sit of course. (Not that I didn't already have an idea, but now I can break it down for you.)

We live in a world where people who are more interested in personal growth, discovery and human interaction than career paths and money-making pursuits are mostly chastised and not taken seriously -- if they aren't celebrities of course.

It's like from birth we have it ingrained in us that the most ideal person to be is one who has a definite money-making goal. So, we spend our lives focusing on and working toward that goal and by the time we are old enough to think for ourselves, we don't even know who we are or what we want ... or why we even want it.

I ran into an old friend of mine at the mall last weekend and in the middle of our small talk she cracked a little and began telling me that she feels empty and is trying to figure out her path in life -- all the while I was standing there thinking 'wow, so it's not just me.'

After we had finished talking and I walked away, I started thinking about all the people in my age group who I know are going through that same crisis, and I can't help but think that this is the reason why. We have been forced our whole lives down the path of going to school and getting "educated", which takes up at least 16 years of our lives, and then somewhere in the next 4 to 6 years, or more, we are left to "figure it all out." But by then, we are so lost that we don't even know where to begin. If some weight had been put on personal development and reflection throughout those years, however, then maybe we'd have a better grasp on ourselves and how to interact with people.

And maybe some of us wouldn't be such inconsiderate selfish assholes. (Bitter statement, I know.)

This is just a theory, of course. But think about it. How often do people these days work hard for love, happiness or peace? How often do you meet someone who wants to "be a good person" when they grow up? How many people actually want to go to college just to be a more knowledgeable individual?

I'm going to go ahead and guess and say not very often and not very many. The truth is, we don't put a lot of weight on being good, kind-hearted people any more. Not by a societal standpoint anyway. (I mean, it's not like prevention is better than a cure, right?) We don't take the time to develop our personalities; learn what we like and don't like; learn how to interact well with people; learn how to deal with tragedy and disappointment; learn that loving is natural and starts with self; learn how to make ourselves happy so that we can in turn make others happy also; learn that we are actually built to receive pleasure from giving to others.

Instead, we are taught to be selfish under the guise of "independence"; rude under the guise of "being real"; and valueless under the guise of "being free."

And honestly, I think that is the biggest tragedy of this world. 

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