Once we open our eyes, the twisted priorities by which society compels us suddenly come into clearer view. A focus on productivity, rather than quality; academic achievement, rather than loving relationships; planning, rather than spontaneity; the state of our bodies, rather than our minds; destinations, rather than journeys; material possession, rather than sharing; selfishness, rather than compassion. Everything just merges into one as we continue to go through the motions and become mindless, robotic creatures that act without reason or conviction, but rather, are simply conforming to the values of an increasingly desolate world. We are governed by the demand society puts on these things until we reach the point where we lose sight of the things that really matter. Perhaps sometimes we just need to step back and think: what is really important to us?
As the blog suggests, I think whatever your values are you have to find them, believe them, and not simply conform to those of anyone else. I wrote this blog after I broke up with my boyfriend (I think that is why it is so good, because I write better when it is emotionally driven) who, if I give him credit for anything, it is offering me fresh perspective on the world. Basically he told me I was so busy worrying about school and doing well - and it was true. I was so narrow-minded and focussed on achieving and basically in reply he sent me an essay telling me where I screwed up. As much as it made me angry, it also made me realise how much I had been drawn into everything that authority and society wanted me to believe in - basically, that school was all that mattered.
ReplyDeleteTo me, I realised that the most important things in my life are my friends, my family and real life experience - being engaged in the world. I had to write a valediction recently as I am nearing the end of my final year at school, and something that I noted was that in 30 years time it will not be our marks that we are reminiscing on, but the memories we share with our friends, and those friendships which will hopefully live on.
And I don't think school is the only institution in society that does this - not even close. We see everywhere in the world around us the tendency towards values that perhaps make a more efficient society, but a society of lesser quality. Many businesses will choose 'quantity over quality' for economical reasons, fashion magazines and other trashy media promote images of overly-skinny girls who likely suffer from terrible psychological problems (eating disorders), working out in the gym becomes increasing popular while people neglect their spiritual and mental health, driven businesspeople (or any people) focus stringently on goals and achievements rather than the experiences that they have along the way, and finally, we live in a world where we are unwilling to give up our comfortable lifestyle or what we are 'used to' to save countries that are being submerged by rising sea levels, feed people who get nothing to eat, or house people who live in the most unsanitary conditions on earth.
I'm not pretending I am perfect, because I'm not, and these are all things that I think most people struggle with. But that is the problem. It seems so much easier to just go with the flow of what society around you is telling you to do, or stick with the familiar, when in fact if we just take a moment to sep back and gain perspective, we see what an effed up place this really is.
I like this blog, it is very powerful!
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