Fourth Form of Madness

I had an experience on the train this week that left me really aware of the way we have devalued humanity to the point that we don’t even recognise when we are doing it.

I get on the train at the second station from where the train starts off. I go in so early that I am one of the lucky ones that always gets a seat (or is that unlucky one cause I go in so earlier?). On this particular morning, there were a few more people than usual so I sat down to a lady who had also got on at my stop. There was a lot of huffing and puffing as she removed her gym bag off the seat that she had put it on and I was beginning to sit down in. There was a long hard glare at me which I deflected by fussing around with my ipod and being oblivious to her anger. As usual as the train journey progressed the train reached its capacity and people were standing in the aisles. I had convinced myself during the journey that I had imagined her anger, why would she be angry over me sitting on a seat that was essential free (once she had removed her gym bag)? However, when I stood up to get off in the city, the huffing, puffing and glaring started up again as she aggressively put her gym bag down again on the seat I had vacated. She must really love that gym bag, maybe she was smuggling something precious within it, to have evaluated its worth over that of a living and breathing being?

The whole situation would have been laughable if it didn’t allude to a more serious problem that runs through our society, the objectification and devaluation of human life. In Western society where we now have been sufficiently conditioned to value money and external goods as marks of who we are and how successful our lives our, the measure of a good life is no longer internal. Often now you are not evaluated for how you live your life, how you treat people and for what you give back. Now we consider people successful if they have a big house, fancy car and money to spend. The makings of a good life seems all to be external and easy to purchase.

I guess the internal good life is being drowned out by big businesses because they can’t sell it to you. It is not in their interest to tell you that doing a totally selfless act or refraining from drinking yourself into oblivion every night is going to lead you to a richer inner life. It is in their interests to advertise in a manner that will make you associate success and feeling good about yourself with their product. But when did external things ever replace or even emulate inner happiness, inner peace? External things only produce happiness when they are obtained, when they are present. Inner happiness is always there provided you are truly present, and you are the only necessary ingredient required to uncover it.

The fact that the most valuable thing about being human lies within us, makes as all innately extremely valuable and precious. And it makes us all deserve a seat on that train over a bag.