“Me, me, me!”

One of the most important foundations in a society is the common set of ethical rules and laws which every individual must acknowledge and abide by. Every new generation brings with it a new perspective on the current state of the society and they must all try to adhere to their own interests while trying to meet the demands and expectations of their social environment. The gap between the philosophies of the younger and older generations have grown in recent years as a result of the technological evolution and the social possibilities that it has brought along with it. As a result, the generational differences have widened. Not only socially but also philosophically.

The hippie movements of the 70’s marked the beginning of what some are calling the first “Me-Generation”; a generation of people prioritizing individual happiness and prosperity while often ignoring the welfare of other citizens. It popularized the use of Eastern and Asian medicine and more people seemed to become more aware of the state of not only their physical health, but also their spiritual and emotional health. As a consequence, a new wave of egotism swept the Western nations as people became convinced that one has to believe oneself in order to become an achiever in the truest capitalist sense of the word.

Every following generation seems to have spun further down this track, leading to a new, more ego-centered “Me-Generation” than the preceding one. It is obvious that today’s culture is obsessed with the maximization of individual self-esteem which, in turn, has led the current generation to become the most self-centered one yet. How is this a bad thing, you might ask? Paradoxically enough, I am convinced that our egotism will become the death of us, as we are constantly convinced that we are unhappy. The goal of every parent is to make sure that their child is confident, naturally so, but what has happened is that every new generation is more infatuated with themselves than the previous ever had the chance to become.

Our children are seldom allowed to experience defeat. Afraid of what consequences the confrontation with reality might have on our children, we won’t let anyone stand out from the rest. Ever attended a child contest? Everyone is a winner, no one is a loser. These children, growing up with a false sense of self-esteem as a result of always believing that what they do will be more than enough to get through life’s hardships, will face reality in the harshest way possible. They will fall into depression and self-doubt as they have no clue as to how to approach the world they’ve been plunged into when their nations decided that they were old enough to take care of themselves.

The ideology of the “Me-Generation” has left a devastating mark on the Western culture. Not only do we not properly prepare our children for the only lives they are given, we ourselves live in constant unhappiness since we never will experience the social anarchy and self-perpetuation. Never before has self-help books and seminars had such a big audience; we have been disillusioned into believing that there is something wrong with us as we do not seem to cope with our social surroundings. Always in search of something more, never realizing our true potential (or lack of it), we are proof of one of the greatest paradoxes of all time; how the most prosperous society can foster the unhappiest people.

Boundaries

I am of the firm belief that existence serves no purpose in itself, that the purpose of life must be created and that it is an individual endeavor. In no way can one possibly argue that there exists such a thing as a definitive way of living life, since there is no such thing as an objective emotional state. Our thoughts and actions do not conform to an external source of truth; the human perspective is limited to the experiences of the isolated individual, making it difficult not only to come to definitive conclusions (especially since our experiences are dimmed by the subjectivism of our minds and our ever-increasing number of experiences) but also to be understood by, as well as understand, other human beings.

Our admirable ability to adapt to new situations is the key towards becoming a self-confident individual. However, if one has yet to find an inner confidence, i.e. peace, the life will seem as a frightening experience riddled with inconsistences and uncertainty. Whenever a sudden change occurs in the lives of those who have found comfort in external things, be it other human beings or soulless things, and they lose the things they inaccurately believe to be essential, these individuals reach a state of panic. Sadly, most people have not come to terms with themselves as of yet and are therefore living what might appear to be an unsettling existence.

In today’s society most of us believe that panic, neurosis, a sense of not belonging and other signs of nervousness to be natural elements in modern life, that times of panic are to be expected come, say, graduation or retirement. Most of us have misled ourselves into believing that life ought to be governed by a transcendental meaning or purpose, be it universal or personal, and that we must seek comfort in the external world. The truth of the matter is that the most important thing is not to seek meaning and comfort by trying to conform by, for example, settling down, getting a mortgage or in any other way tieing oneself to external objects as a way of avoiding the uncertainties of life.

 

Letting bygones be bygones

(An attempt at describing the way I’m currently feeling - which, already, is in need of thorough revising and rethinking.)

Last Thursday, I was supposed to visit my grandmother at the hospital. Suffering from leukemia, visits to the hospital are fairly common, but I still feel a need to visit her as often as possible during her blood transfusions and appointments with doctors. Having overslept, I woke up too late for her latest visit and wound up angry at myself for not showing up. Five hours later, however, I did visit the hospital, but for all the wrong reasons; just before dinner time I was about to go to the store to buy a bottle of ketchup when I fell down a flight of stairs, cracking the small of my back. Traumatized and suffering from memory loss, unable to move my legs, the ambulance drove me to the emergency room where I was told that I had to spend the night at the hospital.

Having been told not to move my body more than necessary (getting up was definitely out of the question), I was taken to the orthophaedic floor. I was soon placed in a room in which I realized that I was the only one below the age of 65. The night passed by fairly painless, mainly because of the morphine that the doctor had given me. At 8 AM, I woke up to the sound of nurses handing out breakfast plates while asking us patients how we were feeling. I suddenly felt old and fragile, as if my life had passed unnoticed in front of me and that I now was facing death. The sound of the sick elderlies’ coughs bounced against the beige walls, causing a brutal sound that must’ve reminded them of their imminent deaths. There I was, a 19 year-old assuming the role of someone much older. The dementia of some of the patients soon showed its face and I was suddenly seized by a feeling of regret. What kind of life have I been living, what have I attained so far? The answer amounted to: nothing. Willingly popping a few more pills handed to me by a nurse, I realized that I had lost hope.

Death, the most natural of occurences, is an event most of us spend our whole lives trying to avoid, but is avoiding the unavoidable constructive in any way? My night at the hospital proved to be an eye-opener in my life, and even though only a few days have passed I find myself with a new perspective (that I have yet to apply to life, since I’m still unable to perform simple acts as brushing my teeth without feeling a sharp sting of pain). Reminding myself of my imminent death affects my behavior, forcing me to re-evaluate my actions and plans. I do no longer find sitting in the couch for a whole day, working at a 9-to-5 job, not having any particular goals, no striving, to be adequate. I want change; I want to change something; I want to change someone; I want to change myself. Set goals, create, deconstruct, let bygones be bygones and move on. If you ain’t busy living, you’re busy dying.