How many of you have questioned the status quo of
your life and the life of those around you? The reason I open with this
question is because more recently in the past few years with the explosion of
technology and menial comforts available to us, I see people settling for
mediocrity. While this is a strong condemnation of society as a whole, I would
like us to examine this question, for it may be at the root of our myriad
troubles today.
For
the past 50 years we have been all offered a narrative which we blindly follow.
Tell me if the following sounds familiar. ‘Get an education, get a good job,
have kids/start a family, don’t break the law, save enough money, work 40 hours
a week, retire. ‘
This
sounds extremely boring when written down but it is shocking how we all follow
this narrative with little deviation throughout our lives. Indeed, look at it
this way; when you meet somebody the conversation within the first two minutes
will always deviate to what sort of work you do which is utterly pathetic. We
are literally defined now by the work we do as opposed to being defined by the goodness of our souls. This is more so in North America where we live to work as opposed to many
European’s who just work to live,
(though this is changing to the former). We are even taught to ridicule those
who do not exactly follow this narrative.
Why
do we do this? To survive? Or is it perhaps what has been ingrained in us for
the past 100 years with shiny trinkets being dangled in front of us on a stick?
The Ancients didn’t devote most of their day to work. Indeed, up until the
medieval era humanity had more Leisure time than actual work time! While this
is all ingrained in our current socio-political systems as well as our economy,
start to think of alternatives. We deserve better than to just fade away into obscurity
slaving away for something without meaning. Must we validate our existence by
the work we do at the expense of all else? Must we validate our lives with
meaningless trinkets? Diogenes of Sinope, one of the men through which I draw
inspiration railed against such timid behaviour.
Life
is monotonous if you live in pursuit of your work. I can only fathom the number of people who lay
on their deathbed thinking about the road they didn’t take in recent times. We
have all this technology, all this potential
for advancement, politically, economically and socially and instead of
pushing for change and growth we are stuck in a vicious cycle of work/sleep
until you retire or die. While some will try to point that we have always been
like this, I posit that this is a by-product of modern capitalism. People will
inevitably say, ‘but you need money for leisure!’ The truth of the matter is
that by saying that they are perpetuating this cycle of mediocrity. We need to start changing our entire
perception and this starts with asking questions of our government, political
systems, economy as well as our way of living.
To close out this piece, I would like to turn your attention to history. The reason why there was such an explosion of ideas during the Ancient Era all across the world is due to this one simple truth. The people had leisure time and welcomed debate and interaction instead of shying away from it. They did not work 40 hours a week, come home and turn on the television because they were simply too tired to do anything else. Instead they examined themselves as well as each other. Yes, they disagreed and fought over their ideas, but they did not slave away their lives for nothing. The people back then simply aspired for more than wealth. Their ideas, their legacies, are timeless.
To close out this piece, I would like to turn your attention to history. The reason why there was such an explosion of ideas during the Ancient Era all across the world is due to this one simple truth. The people had leisure time and welcomed debate and interaction instead of shying away from it. They did not work 40 hours a week, come home and turn on the television because they were simply too tired to do anything else. Instead they examined themselves as well as each other. Yes, they disagreed and fought over their ideas, but they did not slave away their lives for nothing. The people back then simply aspired for more than wealth. Their ideas, their legacies, are timeless.
I do not presume to
know the solution to our many problems but I can offer you this truth. We can
break this cycle by engaging with each other. Instead of strictly focusing on
working ourselves to the bone for personal benefit that is ultimately meaningless,
aspire for more than the mundane. Aspire to have your name ring out long after
you are gone. Work for the betterment of society not just personal gain. People still remember Homer and the many ancients over 2000 years
after they passed away. I doubt they will remember those who lived only for
themselves.
This isn’t something that comes from either the left or the right. I reside outside of this archaic classification system. I merely ask that you all do your best to ensure the future. Also I do wish to state that many professions do indeed contribute to the betterment and advancement of society but even still, these people need to contribute to dialogue instead of merely accepting their life as it is.
This isn’t something that comes from either the left or the right. I reside outside of this archaic classification system. I merely ask that you all do your best to ensure the future. Also I do wish to state that many professions do indeed contribute to the betterment and advancement of society but even still, these people need to contribute to dialogue instead of merely accepting their life as it is.
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