Unfortunately, we are all a product, to varying degrees, of intense programming towards a social standard very few, if any of us, can achieve. We are programmed to compete, to achieve, to always want more. Such an environment is going to induce aberrant behavior contrary to the common welfare of man.
The tenets of "Fight Club" make a lot of sense ( I know, I am breaking rules one and two. It happens). We get so bogged down in trying to become something other than what we really are, in acquiring things and doing things we were told would lead to happiness and success but in fact do just the opposite, in placing importance in stuff and forgetting what is really important, and then being wholly unsatisfied with our lives and knowing that for all the hard work and sacrifice we have accomplished absolutely nothing of value.
They say our world is now worth something like $160 trillion dollars. A hundred years ago it was maybe in the billions. Where did all that extra value come from? If the whole world contains the same mass and energy that it has had for thousands, if not millions of years, then how can the value be anything more than what it was yesterday, or last year, or a thousand years ago? We've acquired nothing new, we simply continuously divide the whole into ever smaller pieces. In fact, if anything, we've been steadily losing as time goes by, because most realize our world is finite, and each second is spent with no remuneration, so really our world is getting gradually smaller and smaller with respect to time.
When you realize that you truly possess nothing but a small amount of time, that each second of your life must be spent regardless of the value you get from it, and that all the money and possessions in the world will not buy you one more breath than what you have already been alotted, then maybe you will begin to understand what is important in life and what is simply an unattainable illusion. We are each solely responsible for our own happiness. To blame someone or something else for our dissatisfaction is a waste of our time, and prevents us from realizing the full value of our existence. We are seldom in control of our environment, but we always have a choice as to how to respond to whatever conditions we encounter. When you can distinguish between what is and isn't within your control, only then will you be able to find satisfaction with your life, and you will be free not only to accomplish the purpose of your existence, but to express a positive influence on those around you.
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The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.
-- Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)
. I guess my mother did right by me when it came to teaching me manners, respect and courtesy. Even if she did fail in the dressing, hairstyle and jewelry dept.
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