It’s all a lie. A big lie. An illusion even. It doesn’t exist. It is something that we’ve made up in our heads. And it is the thing that is eating us up. If there is anything as “true success”, it is what we are living right in the middle of. But somehow, we are blind to it – because it lies in our blind spot.
THE GREAT DISSATISFACTION – Why We Are Unhappy
We hate the government, and gawk at celebrities – wishing to be them. We daydream of money, wealth, and fame. We are constantly chasing this or that. But very few times have we paused to appreciate what is right in front of us.
I wonder if anyone noticed, but we do not live in anarchy or war. No disease has successfully ravaged humanity in hundreds of years now. We have phones to call people from halfway across the globe instantly. We have a variety of flavors of ice-cream to choose from and enjoy. We have cars. We even have a choice of entertainment. Things no one a few years ago could ever dream of, not to talk of enjoying.
In every aspect of life, we’ve not just come far but have crossed the vanishing point of the expectation of people years past. Who could have ever thought that rulership of the people would be by the people and for the people? Who could imagine that we could make snow inside our bedrooms even under the scorching west African sun? Who could have imagined that we could have the wisdom of thousands of philosophers, doctors, engineers, lawyers, etc. right at our fingertips, and for free?
Who could have imagined that a time would come when someone would survive malaria, a lethal cut, or being impaled by a spare? Who? But today we can completely heal people of multiple gunshots – patch them up even better than they came in. We can swap carbon bones for titanium ones. We can transplant hearts. We can do a blood transfusion and even go for butt enlargement surgeries – just for the sake of vanity.
We have a world where women are beginning to get respected and less objectified. Heck! We have a world where slavery has been abolished. A world where clergymen don’t order for the execution of people based on claims that they are witches or wizards.
We have marble floors. We have air conditioners. We have millions of music in our pockets. We can start fire without cracking rocks. Few of us go to farms or raise animals but we have a regular supply of food and meat.
We have artificial intelligence that recommends movies for us, and also recommends social media feeds for us (so we can get more of what we enjoy – conveniently and seamlessly).
We’ve been fed fat with pleasure and luxury. Yet we are not satisfied.
Yes. We are not. And we can’t be.
How can we be happy knowing that we don’t have a car yet? We are using this scrap whilst there’s an iPhone 13. We’re living in a bungalow with 13 others whilst there are those living in a mansion alone. We have 100 followers whilst there are those with 300 million followers. We came 10th in class whilst there is someone who came 1st.
Damn! We don’t have a lover whilst others post pictures of their fiancés on the internet. We are eating vegetables whilst there are those eating entire chicken and turkey.
Our dissatisfaction runs deep. And it cannot be quenched. It cannot be dissolved. It cannot be uprooted nor thrown away.
How can it be expelled, when it is based on this gross dissatisfaction that we have built this world of luxury?
Luxury and pleasure…
THE GUINEA PIG OF HAPPINESS MIRAGE – Why We Can’t Be Happy
Luxury and pleasure were never the goals. It never was. The goal has always been to chase. The aim has always been to climb. The aim has always been to conquer. All others are just illusions.
It was never the win we were after. That was a mirage. Something that we look up to until we’ve gone past it, and then there is another in front.
We think success is what we’ve been chasing all along. But it isn’t. It is like a kid who sees a mirage afar off besides a tree and says to himself – based on his observations and calculations – that after 30 seconds they should have gotten to the location of the tree (where the mirage is).
It is nice to think that driving faster is good for getting to this mirage. However, that kid would be disappointed when he realizes that the mirage only “appeared” to be beside that tree.
It is like thinking happiness is in money, fame, or anything really.
Happiness is not those things, neither is it in those things.
You wanted candy, a bicycle, an admission, a grade, a lover, a job, a certain amount of money, a wife, kids, a name, good health, legacy, some more time, and now you want heaven.
There is no end to it. It is an endless chase. It is like a guinea pig on a wheel. You keep running and running, doing a lot, but not quite getting anywhere. It seems the farther you run the farther happiness and satisfaction gets.
It is weird. But what is weirder is the fact that you never seem to realize when you passed the last mirage.
We don’t seem to notice when we’ve got what we worked and prayed for. We seem not to realize how much we craved. We seem not to realize how much blood was shed for the peace, pleasure, and luxuries we are walking and breathing in.
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JUST ANOTHER LIFE CYCLE – Why we should be grateful nonetheless
It is a normal and common occurrence. It is the nature of humanity. It is our life circle.
Flies go from eggs, larva, pupa, to adults (within which they run around looking for the largest pile of shit to sink their faces into), before exhausting their 30 days long life.
Humans go from being a fertilized egg, fetus, baby, to adulthood (within which they run around looking for money, love, power, eternity – their favorite flavor of shit), before exhausting their 80 years long life.
So, should you stop looking for your pile of shit?
No. It is your nature. You should.
But, at least have the decency to be grateful, humble, and happy that you’re getting the shit.
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I enjoy writing long-form SEO content for self-help and personal development blogs. I can also do simple graphics design and copywriting. I’m an author, coach, logician, introvert, and storyteller. I love simplicity.