...And I'm no-body to talk of no-body
Everyone wants to be some-body... I don't understand. Why don't we want to be no-body?
"When you are a no-body, no-one bothers you and no-one is bothered about you."
We have gone to great extents to make ourself belief that we really matter and that our lives are meaningful. Self-significance and self-esteem they say. It is sad how we want to prove we exist, we want to prove that we are significant. Unfortunately, most of them get frustrated in their quest for significance. In today's world of rank-ism, there is competition everywhere. Everyone wants to be some-body, few manage to be some-body. And, then starts the endless desire...a quest.. a quest for significance.
Once becoming members of the winners' circle(aka some-body), the insiders naturally want to maintain their hard-earned privileges by keeping others out as long as they can. The outsiders(aka no-body) will continue to wage a battle to get in, to the extent that they remain driven by the desire to be somebody. Aha! Hence, therefore I conclude we will never be content with what we are.
I admit, the truth is each and everyone of us gets to be some-body at some point in time, but only a few realize it until that happens. The rest are cursed never to realize that they have achieved that significance, and most among them have an eternal struggle to be that utopic somebody. They still believe they live in mediocrity, they still believe there is something worthwhile to achieve. To me, blessed are those who live in that curse1.
In this context, I'd classify that there are three kinds of people commonly found:
Humility! Humility, I must say is what keeps us defeated. Defeated enough to keep us fighting for what we tend to achieve ultimately. Funny it may sound, but humility itself is the hardest to achieve. We can all agree that humility is an admirable quality in others, because we feel safe and comfortable around people who are meek and humble. But when it comes to ourselves, we think humility a hindrance to success and a by-product of failure. How can anyone achieve success without ambition and a competitive spirit? Who does not feel elated and proud after accomplishing something great? Humility seems very un-natural, something foreign to the process of thought. People have often linked humility to self-abasement, and the willingness to be a doormat, which in my opinion is a very wrong notion.
In reality, what we we are trying to fill is the inner void, but we are driven to achieve something which will not satisfy the thirst of the mind. The enlightenment to satisfy this very truth can come only after humility - the wisdom of realizing one's own ignorance, insignificance and lowliness, without which one cannot see the truth. When one feels the ultimate emptiness, the inner void and non-self (selflessness), one is free from the suffering and all illusions of self-deception.
Humility, I say is what is to be achieved. Unfortunately, We humans take our Intelligence for granted and arrogance follows it all the way till death.
1 - The usual contradictory self I must say :)
2 - no sexist feelings. 'man' is used interchangeably with 'human' (also read as whoman)... ah just a typo wouldn't you say from 'woman'. Now there you go, I proved illogically, that man & woman were just typos of each other.
3 - These are the ones who don't rest even after having all the wealth in the world. power, wealth and fame...these are addictive. They have driven men & nations crazy.
"When you are a no-body, no-one bothers you and no-one is bothered about you."
We have gone to great extents to make ourself belief that we really matter and that our lives are meaningful. Self-significance and self-esteem they say. It is sad how we want to prove we exist, we want to prove that we are significant. Unfortunately, most of them get frustrated in their quest for significance. In today's world of rank-ism, there is competition everywhere. Everyone wants to be some-body, few manage to be some-body. And, then starts the endless desire...a quest.. a quest for significance.
Once becoming members of the winners' circle(aka some-body), the insiders naturally want to maintain their hard-earned privileges by keeping others out as long as they can. The outsiders(aka no-body) will continue to wage a battle to get in, to the extent that they remain driven by the desire to be somebody. Aha! Hence, therefore I conclude we will never be content with what we are.
I admit, the truth is each and everyone of us gets to be some-body at some point in time, but only a few realize it until that happens. The rest are cursed never to realize that they have achieved that significance, and most among them have an eternal struggle to be that utopic somebody. They still believe they live in mediocrity, they still believe there is something worthwhile to achieve. To me, blessed are those who live in that curse1.
In this context, I'd classify that there are three kinds of people commonly found:
- The some-body: The ones who have always be a winner, the ones you normally grind your teeth at, the ones who make you feel like no-body. Also, the ones, who've recently come to a realization's that they are some-body after all, as if some-one significant who matters to the existence of the universe.
- The no-body who wants to be some-body: These are the major chunk of human race. These are what you call as ambitious-people-yet-to-be-successful. They wait a long time in the waiting room of hope till the doors of success open to them. A significant portion of these wannabe significant people are what you call as "driven-by-the-desire-to-succeed", they are the ones one should stay away from. They are blinded by the success they haven't yet tasted, but think they know how it tastes.
- The no-body who is glad for being a no-body: Content & happy people. Most of them achieve success (or the rather what they believe/define as success), it needn't be fame, wealth, sex. It could be anything, these are the ones who find pleasure in little things. A few of these are the ones who knowingly/unknowingly achieve the height of success which the "no-body_who_wants_to_be_some-body" hopes to reach and the "some-body" thinks he has reached.
Humility! Humility, I must say is what keeps us defeated. Defeated enough to keep us fighting for what we tend to achieve ultimately. Funny it may sound, but humility itself is the hardest to achieve. We can all agree that humility is an admirable quality in others, because we feel safe and comfortable around people who are meek and humble. But when it comes to ourselves, we think humility a hindrance to success and a by-product of failure. How can anyone achieve success without ambition and a competitive spirit? Who does not feel elated and proud after accomplishing something great? Humility seems very un-natural, something foreign to the process of thought. People have often linked humility to self-abasement, and the willingness to be a doormat, which in my opinion is a very wrong notion.
In reality, what we we are trying to fill is the inner void, but we are driven to achieve something which will not satisfy the thirst of the mind. The enlightenment to satisfy this very truth can come only after humility - the wisdom of realizing one's own ignorance, insignificance and lowliness, without which one cannot see the truth. When one feels the ultimate emptiness, the inner void and non-self (selflessness), one is free from the suffering and all illusions of self-deception.
Humility, I say is what is to be achieved. Unfortunately, We humans take our Intelligence for granted and arrogance follows it all the way till death.
1 - The usual contradictory self I must say :)
2 - no sexist feelings. 'man' is used interchangeably with 'human' (also read as whoman)... ah just a typo wouldn't you say from 'woman'. Now there you go, I proved illogically, that man & woman were just typos of each other.
3 - These are the ones who don't rest even after having all the wealth in the world. power, wealth and fame...these are addictive. They have driven men & nations crazy.