Life's appetite

To initiate change

Posted by Unknown , November 11, 2011 9:38 AM

Have we not reflected on whats essential? That we are shadowed by our own greed, lost in the path of vanity, and even neglecting simplicity. Living in this superficial society is but shame. How long would we allow ourselves to live a mediocre life? For we cannot expect decency and practice of ethical norms in a monetary system, where people think they are as good as their bank accounts, the cars they drive, or even the houses they live in. I am not against capitalism, don't get me wrong, but I am against the massive corporate and individual greed, which encouraged us to live beyond our means and judge the quality of our lives by the amount of "things" which we own. And this is where it all begins, for little do we notice that in greed we form arrogance, and in arrogance we form judgment. Let me enumerate each trait to explain (from my perspective) how destructive and detrimental it could affect ourselves and society as a whole, and how one simple truth could resolve such dilemma.

Greed: "I do not have enough, and so i have to have more". These are the words of a person with greed lives by. As human beings we are innately insatiable and living to attain what we presently lack . But to what extent do we realize that we are shadowed by greed? Be reminded that desires are the currency of our actions, for whatever we do to have what we want manifests through our acts, be it good or bad. And this is where our moral-spiritual values takes place, we either stop if we know that we crossed that line, or to continue disregarding the consequences and be dominated by greed.

Arrogance and Judgment: "I am right, and you are not". There are certain factors that would contribute to these traits such as discrimination, racism, sexism and to our modern society we now have depending to assets, credentials, connections and social status. We're not a generation so different from those before us, this crisis (past and present) is created artificially by those people who are driven by insecurities and greed to convince themselves that they are better than others.
The sad truth is there are also people who tolerates these acts, for the sake of their present careers, acceptance, money or even just because of mere cowardice. Though our hands may be tied in this tragic sociological evolution, is there no other option but to turn a blind eye? This is but our own choice, to either let people undermine your worth for a temporary gratification, or to stand your ground and earn the kind of respect you deserve.

The simple truth:

We live in a crazy world, in outrageous times, with dramatic amount of negativity around us, and with change happening at warp speed, each time caught up in a cycle of routines or even trapped in this rat race of our present-day. We nowadays simply have smart, successful or beautiful men and women, but no longer value life's wisdom which is why we are constantly searching for true happiness. Antoine de Saint-Exupery, author of "The little prince" once quoted, "What is essential is invisible to the eye". If we only take our time to understand this quote, we wouldn't have such materialistic perspective, thus avoiding greed and rather to give importance to God, values, culture, love ones, etc.

Rare are the ones who have the courage to go for the real change, to be guided by acknowledging what "really" matters most. And i dare you to be one.

Written by: Rochelle "Sam" Real