domingo, 11 de mayo de 2008

Life lessons 101.

At this point in my life, I'm really balancing the facts, the values and all the things conforming my entire existence.
Any one of us, spend the major part of our lives trying hard to get recognition, among other things. If it's world-wide recognition, even better. At the same time, the hours, the energy we spend on a daily basis in order to get financial security is astounding. Have you realized how much time and energy we invest in the quest of getting money? You'd be amazed, and what for?
Is it bad having a nice car? No. Is it bad having a big and beautiful house? No. Is it bad having lots of money? Of course not. But, is it all that matters? That's another story.
The key question would be: What's the most important thing in our life? Different answers would come up: health, family, money, marriage, work, career. It all depends of each and everyone of us. Value system and all kind of paradigms. But at the end of the day, this world, this civilization, is beeing organized of such a way that money has become one of the main reasons of existence (if not the only one), you realize it or not. But it is just the way it is and we have to play according to the rules. Fortunately (or unfortunately for some people), we as rationale people (supposedly!) "need" more, we deserve more. But there's a natural law which states: we cannot be happy with external things, our happiness rely on our inner self. Does it sound a little too mystical or ethereal? Let me go a little further:
Who would've thought that a person with obscene quantities of money in his/her bank account would normally feel sad, depressed or lonely?
A person internationally renown because of his/her career, feeling the same miserable way?
A man or woman possesing the gift of "beauty" as we've been taught in this culture, feeling horrible and disgusting?
Even, any person with little kids waiting for them? Isn't all this strange?
Yes indeed, it is strange. The question remains: why do we insisit in the quest for happiness trying to find it among the possible by-products of it?
One more to the list, the recent mysterious death of Heath Ledger.
The list is large: Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, River Phoenix, Kurt Cobain, Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin and on and on and on. From different fields, with different circumstances, but sharing the same fate and all of them having reached what we desperately seek.
Isn't the sudden death of Heath Ledger another sign, another life lesson to us? I think is our responsability to learn somthing out of it and I'm pretty sure, if we do, that in a way, we won't face such a fate and we'll be a little happier, finding the real meaning of this complicated life we were imposed to live and finding the real elements inside of us that are really the signs of happiness, the important issues and for once and for all, stop being idiots and don't try to kill ourselves (metaphorically or literally speaking) following a totally shallow vision.
I think we should remember the simple pleasures and even sounding like a very used and abused cliché, now is more important than ever: family, health, spending quality time with your loved ones, having a nurturing chat over a cup of coffee or tea, going to the movies, enjoying nature, laugh from the top of our lungs, make love and not war, and all the other things you guys know very well.
It's just a thought.