Reality is an entity unto itself...
I've been thinking a great deal about life lately. I'm not entirely satisfied with it at all, but I realized today that human nature appears never to leave anyone truly satisfied with what they have.
I've often heard the phrase "It's the journey, not the destination that matters" but I think it would be more apt to say that it's challenge rather than success that people want. Think about it. Every single person who has the opportunity to read this post is living a life that would be a dream to some people in the world. All our problems, things that seem so important to us, things that cause some of us to be suicidal, or worse, homicidal, would be taken on in the blink of an eye by the impoverished, starving people of the world.
Just think about it. Think about what it would be like to sit down for a chat with some poor individual from Ethiopia where you try and tell them about your problems as you would with a close friend. So you see, it's like everything in the world. It's all relative. It is our nature to compare things, and we inevitably compare ourselves and our lives to what we imagine we could have, what we could be doing.
I sit here in my rented house, in front of one of my computers and marvel at how incredibly selfish I truly am. But that, too, is relative. Compared to some I am the icon of selflessness. But I'm certainly no saint.
Do I think I can change? Do I think I can suddenly stop desiring that which I do not have? No, I'm not that naive. But I do certainly know I can be happier, by far, than I am now. It's remarkable how society molds us to be the jigsaw piece that will fit most closely into it's grand picture. Those pieces that don't fit? They get tucked away in the background. Institutions are made for them. A little bin to throw the unwanted pieces in so the rest of the picture can continue to grow, unconcerned.
I suppose we all do our best with what we are given. We all strive toward a higher level. Media has provided us all with the mapped out route to happiness, and apparently it is paved with merchandise. Only problem is that once you've bought your way to the end of the road, you may find that you're no where near where you thought you'd be. Millionaires who have everything become depressed. Why? The challenge is gone, they've achieved their goal, and found no fulfillment in it at all.
It's true, money can't buy you happiness. What it can do, however, is facilitate your journey. If your goal is to achieve nothing but more wealth, I fear you'll never truly find happiness. If, however, you use money as a tool, use it to pay for your journey, you may find that the people you meet along the way will take you to the destination you seek. Just never let turn your back on the conductor, the one person who can truly bring you to the ends of the earth merely by taking you in their arms.
After all, once you've been to the ends of the earth, the middleground will never hold much appeal anymore.
I've often heard the phrase "It's the journey, not the destination that matters" but I think it would be more apt to say that it's challenge rather than success that people want. Think about it. Every single person who has the opportunity to read this post is living a life that would be a dream to some people in the world. All our problems, things that seem so important to us, things that cause some of us to be suicidal, or worse, homicidal, would be taken on in the blink of an eye by the impoverished, starving people of the world.
Just think about it. Think about what it would be like to sit down for a chat with some poor individual from Ethiopia where you try and tell them about your problems as you would with a close friend. So you see, it's like everything in the world. It's all relative. It is our nature to compare things, and we inevitably compare ourselves and our lives to what we imagine we could have, what we could be doing.
I sit here in my rented house, in front of one of my computers and marvel at how incredibly selfish I truly am. But that, too, is relative. Compared to some I am the icon of selflessness. But I'm certainly no saint.
Do I think I can change? Do I think I can suddenly stop desiring that which I do not have? No, I'm not that naive. But I do certainly know I can be happier, by far, than I am now. It's remarkable how society molds us to be the jigsaw piece that will fit most closely into it's grand picture. Those pieces that don't fit? They get tucked away in the background. Institutions are made for them. A little bin to throw the unwanted pieces in so the rest of the picture can continue to grow, unconcerned.
I suppose we all do our best with what we are given. We all strive toward a higher level. Media has provided us all with the mapped out route to happiness, and apparently it is paved with merchandise. Only problem is that once you've bought your way to the end of the road, you may find that you're no where near where you thought you'd be. Millionaires who have everything become depressed. Why? The challenge is gone, they've achieved their goal, and found no fulfillment in it at all.
It's true, money can't buy you happiness. What it can do, however, is facilitate your journey. If your goal is to achieve nothing but more wealth, I fear you'll never truly find happiness. If, however, you use money as a tool, use it to pay for your journey, you may find that the people you meet along the way will take you to the destination you seek. Just never let turn your back on the conductor, the one person who can truly bring you to the ends of the earth merely by taking you in their arms.
After all, once you've been to the ends of the earth, the middleground will never hold much appeal anymore.