Life...

                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Life...is the interval of time between birth and death. 

That is the physical, mental, and spiritual experiences that constitute existence.

“If you know nothing at all in life, know this;

That yesterday is a canceled cheque;

Tomorrow is a promissory note;

 Today is the only cash you have;

…so spend it wisely…”  (S. Cha)

I recently received the quote above and I thought it quite profound in its estimation of life. I must confess I don’t often reflect on the full constitution of life and its depth of meaning…which I suppose is not prudent for one yet to navigate through life, seeking a station and place for purpose. However on this occasion I ponder on this very question…What is life?

Life can be defined as, ‘the property or quality that distinguishes living organisms from dead organisms and inanimate matter, manifested in functions such as metabolism, growth, reproduction, and response to stimuli or adaptation to the environment originating from within the organism’. However I prefer this definition, ‘the physical, mental, and spiritual experiences that constitute existence’.

A cancelled cheque refers to a cheque that has been cashed or paid [http://www.investorwords.com/5435/cancelled_check.html]. When we consider our own lives in this way, a cancelled cheque could refer to successes we achieved as well as failures we paid for. Those that were successes signify the things in our past that we got right, the battles we won, the lives we touched, the hope fulfilled and general good times…The failures we paid for refers to the those things we got wrong and the regrets of the past, the things we didn’t achieve, the battles lost, the time wasted and joy lost…I find that there are two types of people in life; those who spend a lot of their present, living in the past, regretting and living out the consequences of their failures with no hope of being present in the now. We may know that the past is time spent that we cannot recover, yet often people take the view that if the ponder on it long enough or dwell in its failures, those cancelled cheques would somehow become paid. The reality is that those who are trapped in the issues of yesterday, they completely miss living their today.

Tomorrow…the day after today…the future… the unknown…the dreams yet to be fulfilled… Those who are not focused on their past regrets are often focused on worrying about their future.  The bible tells us that, ‘no man is promised tomorrow’, that is, you do not know the day and time you will die… so what is the point of worrying? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying we shouldn’t plan for our futures, but once we have made plans, we need to start making headway to achieving them by living in the now. Being afraid that you won’t achieve or succeed tomorrow often paralyses people and stops them from trying to do anything…FEAR, a state of mind that says, ‘I can’t’ often robs us of the promise of tomorrow and all its possibilities… A promissory note can therefore be described as a promise to pay a negotiable amount. Therefore God determines how much time you receive in your future which is changeable until you posses it. [http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/promissory-note.html]

Cash is the physical currency you have in hand that has a corresponding value / worth that is at your disposal today [http://www.investorwords.com/747/cash.html]. This is today, the now opportunities, the things we see, feel and experience in the present.  What we are doing with our now is what is more important than what happened yesterday or what will happen tomorrow. No is when we can make positive changes to mitigate the effects of our past mistakes on our future. Now is when we can refocus and redirect our energies into the most important things. Now is the time to make a positive impact on our local communities, invest in the future of the next generation and have an overall positive impact in the now… Martin Luther King, Jr.  once said, ‘an individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity. Life must have a purpose beyond satisfying self, seeking for its own and gaining for its own benefit…A life that constantly looks back, overlooks today in fear of what its tomorrow will bring and sets out to achieve for itself alone is indeed a wasted life…

For the sake of peace and progress...

    

    I have been sat here for a good portion of the day staring at a blank sheet of paper with only a topic scribed upon it, wondering how to begin… We could talk about the meaning of the word peace; typically thought to be the absence of war or other hostilities, freedom from quarrels and disagreement or public security and order. [http://www.answers.com/topic/peace]. Progress is commonly defined as movement (advancement) as toward a goal; development or growth [http://www.answers.com/topic/progress]. In order for there to be growth in the human race, children have to be born through the trauma (struggle) of childbirth. Consider the metamorphosis of a butterfly; they are by nature unique in that they go through the process of metamorphosis; a distinct transformation process from egg to larva then pupa to adulthood. [http://www.bonsaigardener.org/bonsai_176.html]. When the butterfly comes forth from its cocoon in the final stage of metamorphosis before it becomes an adult, it has to fight its way out ‘for peace (liberty) and progress’! The reason for this is that the butterfly needs to go through this period of struggle in order to become strong enough to fly and survive. The same is true for progress to take place and be sustainable.

So what then can we say about the need for peace and progress? I believe that there is certainly a climate in which we can experience peace and progress however it may not be in line with popular thinking on the subject. As we have not known a state of genuine peace since the times of the Garden of Eden, this definition of peace seems somewhat fallacious.  To think of a world with no quarrels of any kind, where we are all in harmonious agreement always, no physical or verbal ‘cold’ wars, no family disputes and dramas… Surely such a utopian existence can only exist in heaven? The reality is that the world as we know it has never been in a state of true peace as the definition above suggests. 

Peace is a progressive development from one state to another, fighting through each stage to gain a new experience of a version of it as we evolve through life. Peace is therefore very much dependent on perspective and what you as an individual deem is possible to gain from any one state in life.

A more progressive position to the norm is one where peace is viewed as the result of victory though a struggle than to think of peace being devoid of war or disharmony. Therefore, ‘ for the sake of peace and progress’, one would compromise on one part and fight their corner on the other. That is; a workable balance of needs resulting in a semblance of peace. One which is driven by the understanding that to have all your own way is to leave the other at a disadvantage which results in strife and disunity that is counterproductive in the pursuit of peace.

Therefore, peace could be re-defined as a state of overcoming in times of struggle or finding a place of victory in difficult times / situations. Peace indeed is characterised by struggle; an internal battle to swallow one’s pride, set aside one’s own choices, views and sometimes even beliefs. It is also an external struggle to ‘keep the peace’ whilst not losing your stance, finding a way not to rock the proverbial boat without selling your soul... It is a constant work of frustration by my reckoning and very much unlike the thoughts of harmonious tranquil utopian existence one ponders upon when they think of it…

The greatest progress we can make as people is to accept that our original thoughts on the matter are flawed and instead of consistently reaching out for this utopian place called peace, for the sake of peace and progress, let us recognise that peace is a journey, not a destination and that it is with each daily decision, each battle, each struggle, that we can find ourselves progressing towards it, heavenward…

Perils of consumerism

With each life experience and interaction with the world, our minds are shaped, opinions formed and decisions made which alter our viewpoints, challenge our existing knowledge and understanding. Every form of media and popular opinion that we are exposed to changes our perceptions and way of thinking. We are consistently being bombarded with advertisements, trends through an array of different forms of media. All of which have an impact regardless of whether or not we are actively involved in following them or passively. An example of this is technology (gadgets). Every few months there is a new and ‘better’ phone, laptop/computer, car, and TV / DVD system and on and on… It doesn’t stop! The temptation is too great with all that is positioned around us to desire these things. Advertisements make us feel like what we already have is outdated and invalid and that we need to consistently search and seek something new whether we really need these things or not.

Consumerism is a social and economic order that is based on the systematic creation and fostering of a desire to purchase commodity goods in ever greater amounts [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumerism].

 

Fashion is another excellent example of this; being a great lover and ardent fan of shoes, I recall the introduction of the UGG boots, (if you escaped them you are one of the lucky few!) They are an Australian branded and made ‘snow’ type boot for winter (the irony was certainly more than I could bare…) These shoes became popular almost overnight at the ridiculous price of approx £100 and true to form, as soon as the celebrities started being seen in them, they flew of the shelves like the last few loaves of bread during the Zimbabwe ‘now you see it, now you don’t’ food crisis of the last few years!

Outrageous I know but a powerful example of how little choice one can have in life. If you ask anyone who owns a pair of these oversized boots if their choice was completely uninfluenced by who had them in the celebrity world as well as their own local circles, you will find that the decision to purchase was influenced even sub-consciously through advertisement or directly through peer pressure. I am pleased to report that on a matter of principle I refused to purchase UGG boots and deliberately chose to buy a pair of Emues instead  (another Australian brand but at half the price). My choice at the style of boots was however influenced by the UGG craze and therefore is debatable where choice stopped and external influence took over. In contrast; my good friend (whose identity will be concealed to protect the guilty!) who took a similar stance to mine in relation to the cost of UGG boots, but she spent an hour of her life filling in an online questionnaire with the promise of a free pair of these boots at the end…they never materialised!

One of the most influential pulls or pressures if you like, that drive consumerism, is the ‘keeping up with the Joneses syndrome’. It is a phrase applied to competitive acquisition: trying to have all the new things that your neighbours have [http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_Keeping_up_with_the_Joneses_mean]. This is the final link in the vicious cycle called consumerism. It uses advertising to tell us we are not good enough as we are; incapable of having style unless we follow their fashion, unable to connect to the world without all the latest gadgets to be able to use new technologies to do things we do not really need. It then provides for us the solution to our inadequacies or areas of lack... (...fill in the blank), and it’s sold in the nearest shopping centre or town to you. Finally it gets all your friends, family, neighbours;  people in your class at school or work colleagues to buy things and brag about how great they are and how it has changed their life. Then you see it, the look that says oh dear you still have that old version or last seasons... and you’re spurned on to ‘shop ‘till you drop!’ or ‘buy, buy, buy’ (for the gents). So next time you go out to replace that mobile phone or computer or your perfectly working radio, pause, tell yourself you’re a victim and chuckle quietly to yourself  ... 

How free is your 'Freedom of choice'?

Choice… to choose, to pick one over another… This is a concept we assume we understand without due consideration of the depth of its meaning and how far removed that is from day to day practice in today's society.  Let us start form the postulate that choice really is an act of one 'following one’s own will'.

Choice is defined as; 1. The act of choosing (selection); 2.The power, right or liberty to choose (option); 3.One that is chosen; 4. The best or most preferable part. Care in choosing, an alternative. [http://www.answers.com/topic/choice]

Often choice is associated with the word 'freedom' which is often used as a prefix resulting in the expression 'freedom of choice'. Freedom is defined as the condition of being free of restraints...freedom, liberty, license. These nouns refer to the power to act, speak, or think without externally imposed restraints. [http://www.answers.com/topic/freedom]

Deciding on preferences is hardly ever done without considering, at least on a subconscious level, external influences and restraints. These can come in the form of culture, religion, race, tribe or status in society. In each of these groups there is a selection of social norms that one is to adhere to in order to be a part of that community / society. This results in altered perception / repressed expression of one’s true natural choice by temperament and character. For example, a young Muslim woman will make her choices within the confines of what is acceptable in Islam for her to do, like the wearing of the hijab headdress. It is similar in many African setting where a girl child is not as important to educate than a boy, therefore a girl child’s view on her education will be highly influenced by this thinking which could very well lead to an intelligent girl never realising her potential (thank God my parents believe in educating all children as far as the individual wants to go!). Choices made by each girl would be highly influenced by her society and the passive acceptance of its social norms, not just her choice.

The opinion and practices  of individuals with an influential role in one’s life can also shape and adapt one’s thought pattern’s to theirs which result in decisions being made in line with their views / opinions, instead of the individual reflecting inwards to discover what it is they personal believe or deem right and good.  – Influence is the capacity or power of persons or things to be a compelling force on or produce effects on the actions, behavior, opinions, etc., of others [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/influence] If this sort of ‘controlling power is yielded to another, then the ability to have ‘freedom of choice’ in dissipated and the result is what I like to call ‘conditioned choice’. Most people live in the realm of conditioned choice without even realising it, until something so earth-shattering occurs that forces a process of soul searching resulting in rebellion of this ‘control’. This is a common occurrence in history, colonialism and neo-colonialism being good examples. Colonised countries, having had one or two ‘liberationists’ (Those who act or begin a process of trying to achieve equal rights and status [http://www.answers.com/topic/liberation]) rise up in the minority group (which ironically was usually the majority of people), a wider variety was suddenly opened up to that group. Neocolonialism is a far worse monster than colonialism ever was in my opinion. Neocolonialism can be defined as the continuation of the economic model of colonialism after a colonized territory has achieved formal political independence. [http://science.jrank.org/pages/7920/Neocolonialism.html]. This has been said to be controlled externally of the nation by past colonial masters of the west but this is not always the case. In Zimbabwe for instance, the government and leaders operate in the ‘command, subdue and control’ style of governing which is neocolonialist in nature. The same is true for Kamuzu Banda’s Malawi where ‘command, subdue and control’ was the governing style of choice. He even went one step further in adopting ‘Hitler style’ propaganda and controlling all forms of eternal communication coming in to ensure his ‘subjects’ had no alternative influence that would give them real choice.  I remember stories of my father as a member of the youth movement for change, he became very vocal against Banda’s style of governance and calling for true independence of every man (a great liberationist). His political stance of achieving ‘freedom of choice’ and true liberty for his country resulted in a 27 years exile (a year short of my entire lifetime so far!) and countless attacks against him and his family. Why? because there is no true freedom, or choice where there is control and manipulation of one’s thought processes until said one chooses what is deemed ‘right’ by another’. 

These are obvious and clear examples of choice being inhibited to the point of non existence but there are much more subtle forms of this very thing prevalent in today’s society; political parties, educators, ‘thinkers ‘of the day, parents, those anti-religion and religious leaders. Each with their own agenda and for the majority good intentions, they all seek to push an agenda that favours their way of seeing over your freedom to choose and see for yourself.  Many like parents, educators and religious leaders operate in this way in the full belief that youy best interests are at heart whilst the others seek their own. The truth remains that anyone or thing that imposes a set of social norms or “acceptable practices” on you are in a greater or lesser extent seeking to control your choice, removing freedom from the equation.