The
worst thing about the world is how it eventually destroys all the good things
in you...well, at least almost...
As
a kid, we had this weird obsession about growing up... being independent (duh...aren't
you married?)...being able to make our own decisions and play the game by the
rules we set (Guess how it turned out living in a world driven by social
acceptance)... making the big bucks (to pay off the mortgage and student loans,
of course)... to be respected and to be heard (well, self- doubt and lower
self-esteem turned to be a killer, right?).. to indulge in the seven sins
(can't complain here... long live Old Monk)...
Anyone
can relate to what I am saying? Now, how many of you find yourself constantly
going into nostalgia mode and hold on to the pieces of your childhood like
treasures.. May be watching mowgli on the loop.. scrounging for the pictures
from the 90's with those bubbly faces and flat tummies... Any of you does that?
Now, punch yourself in the face and say my name three times.. What the hell
were we thinking?
If
you really look at it, we wanted to be grownups in the world we saw as kids..
not in the adult world.. We probably didn't realize that as we grow up, the
context and perspective of what the world is, keep changing, for the
worse.. The adult world is very demanding on all fronts - cruel, shallow, less
human, more materialistic and worse of all, a master in making people fall in
line.. For most of us, we do fall in line eventually.. As we keep getting hit
by the curve balls life throws at us, we lose a little more of our innocence
and fall in line to join the pack... All those awesome things we were born with
such as dreams, curiosity, unfounded joy, unexpecting love, sharing,
imagination.. one by one we surrender them to our master..
But,
that's not the worst part, right? we actually stop believing in them.. I, for
one, am guilty of "Been there, done that, lost it, was foolish, Move
on" attitude.. And we start judging other people the same way.. Even if
someone does exhibit some of these qualities, we are like "It's only a
matter of time before he/she loses it because real world is not that way"..
and one by one, we make more people into minions for the master.. As
Harvey Dent rightly put it "You either die a hero or you live
long enough to see yourself become the villain"..
Here
comes out the introspective TC.. As a consultant who gets by using "Fake
it till you Make it" tagline, it has dawned on me that life is probably no
different either.. If we lose it and we know it and we yearn for it, why not
fake it? Why not live a lie? Why not delude ourselves that we are still in
command of all those qualities? Why not believe that we are still innocent and not
totally barren of all those things that we once had? Why not believe in love
again? or trust and friendship? Why not ditch the "survival of
fittest" theory in life and bet once again on equality instead?
We
have no issue masking our true intentions to others in our professional and
personal lives just to get by, to save the job, the marriage, the
relationships.. We often put up a mask and are not truthful to what we feel or
what we believe, so that we may not hurt others..So, why would it be a bother
to fool ourselves? Isn't it worth the chance to actually turn into the being we
want to be?
Well,
it is not necessary that our actions need to always reflect our thoughts.. We
could still be the crazy bitch/bastard that we are.. but, maybe and just maybe
we become our old self and actually do wield these qualities, just for a brief
moment..maybe once in a year.. and maybe it gets better over time.. and maybe
we do start seeing the light at the end of tunnel.. Isn't it worth the
probability, however small it might be?. Maybe, our light reflects on others
and for just a moment, this world could very well be how the creator intended
it to be..
Over-emphasis
on truth is definitely appealing but any third grade philosopher can point out
there is no absolute truth. We all live in our comfort zone founded upon
comfortable and more importantly, relative truths, be it on ethical, moral or
personal domains that guide our conscience.. I wonder about the validity and
existence of such truths, if they only serve as chains dragging us down to the
depths.. In Mein Kampf, Hitler coined a term "Big
Lie", which served as a
propaganda tool for his anti-Semitic policies. It goes like this - "If
you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it, and you will even come
to believe it yourself". Although
there is no question around the atrocities committed by this particular human
being, the effectiveness of this technique was proved right by the indisputable
popularity enjoyed by Hitler among his fellow citizens.. Same goes for Japanese
empire during world war 2. Once again, I seem to wonder why this wouldn’t be
applicable on a positive way.
One
of the great philosophers of our modern times, Robert Downing Jr, drives the
same point home when he says "Sometimes
you gotta run before you can walk". Maybe,
sometimes we need to pretend to be someone we are not to be someone we want to
be.. Maybe, sometimes we need to unlearn our lessons to be able to live by
example.. Maybe, sometimes we need to forego some of our mental maturity for
happy heart.. and maybe it's for the greater good..
As Nietzsche rightly put it, "He who fights with monsters should
look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long
into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you.".. With
little imagination, the abyss might turn into Eden and the monster that
resides in us, is lost in time.
So, Amigos.. Let's not be afraid of a little lie..
