Life is a journey that meanders as one grows old with all the experiences. With time and understanding, people come to ascertain their respective goals in life that work as a guiding force for them. Every person should know where to reach by the end of the journey as a journey without any knowledge of the destination would be nothing but meaningless. The vision of life works as the driving force as it guides the individual to go ahead braving all the odds that come in his or her way. In my own case, I gave it quite a bit of thought to comprehend what I wanted from my life, what I wanted to become in this journey of life. Indeed, all the experiences and the literature that have come to influence me by this age have had a major role in channelizing my emotions and goal in life. As I introspected and chewed on the idea of living life to the fullest, I realized that I would require going beyond the constrictions of the consumer culture, materialism, narrow-mindedness of chauvinism and selfishness.
If I am asked, I would tell that a person does change over the course of time, and more so during the years of personality development. However, by the time one completes his or her teens, one should have a proper idea of where does the person see his life going toward. I realized that if one is aimless and skeptical, it would be truly impossible to reach the ultimate destination that one aims to achieve in his or her life. Now, this does sound a bit philosophical indeed, but life is a philosophy. Life goes beyond the mundane chores that crowd the hours of the day. Life is much more than the new clothes, parties, trips and enjoyment. Life is about the aesthetic experience, about drinking the elixir of happiness and goodness that can make a person feel like being on the top of this entire world. I found bliss in reading literature- something that truly guided me in all these years to become a much better individual.
I believe literature is the sea of creative expression that provides inspiration and guidance to the human soul. I have been greatly intrigued by literary works of the stalwart creative artists, and the lessons I have extracted from my most favorite works of art have truly come to guide me in my journey of life. I see many people all around who believe gaining the best of amenities in life and experiencing the comforts is the ultimate thing possible. The world is filled with people all over who run all day long after money so that they can find happiness. Now, these people have come to take the concept of happiness to be synonymous with that of monetary gain or affluence. I think at times if these people ever take a minute or two off from their busy lives to simply look at the azure sky, the chirping birds, the green fields and the unparalleled beauty all over that Mother Nature has offered us with. I wonder if happiness is truly about having the best possible comforts, gadgets, a huge mansion and so much more.
As I wonder about this, I am reminded of the very central lesson that I got from one of the most favorite literary pieces, Affluenza. Indeed, we live in a world that is driven by material culture and consumerism. But I debate with myself if that is all for us to gain. I personally beg to differ from all the people who believe materialism is the key to success and happiness in life. The text describes, “A young man working in the highly competitive finance sector was called in by his bosses to discuss the progress of his work. After a few minutes he broke down in tears, confessing that he had been working so hard that he had not once seen his 10-month-old daughter awake.” (Hamilton & Deniss, 2005) This is truly very shocking and sad indeed. Now for me, happiness cannot be equated by the material comforts that one possesses. Happiness is not something that can be bought with money. So, can I truly escape from this trap of consumerism, I ask myself. Maybe I cannot. But, that would not make me embrace the parameters of consumer culture that condition the human mind to keep on buying more stuff to be happy. People have to realize the fact that there is no superlative in this era of technological development and consumer culture. Even if one buys the very best product with a whole lot of money, beyond doubt a newer product would hog the market within a few months surpassing the previous best product. So, I ask myself, how one can say I am the happiest as I have the best amenities at my disposal.
I have come to understand that money is definitely not everything in life. As I read the text, Affluenza, I understood that a person’s ambition to become rich in order to become happy is, in fact, one of the main causes of the spread of unhappiness. As more people hunt for money, it finally leads them to become greedy and be insensitive toward other things of life. I believe that a person’s affinity toward making too much money can make him less emotional and it can take a toll on his or her personal ties with his close ones. However, that is not how I want to see myself in life years from now. A person’s sole ambition of becoming affluent is like an ailment as it makes him or her oblivious of all the other major priorities of life. As more and more people would be inclined toward earning money to fulfill the aim of their lives, the economic disparity in the society would only increase. The already rich or well-to-do people are at an advantageous position in the economic hierarchy while the poor people suffer the brunt of their fate.
When more people take earning money as their ultimate goal in life, there would be no donations or charities for the betterment of the homeless, poor or underprivileged people of the society. Really, with all the economic disparity that is existent in the world already, the future would not be that great if money becomes the driving force of one’s life. I would like to be a better human being, drinking the true elixir of life and not get stuck with the traps of consumer culture. Indeed, the goal of becoming affluent is linked to consumerism or capitalist economic culture. Capitalism is solely based on the ideology of profit-making and becoming affluent, while consumer culture propagates the need of getting hold of the amenities of life to live comfortably. Happiness cannot become similar to consumerism, in my view. There is much more to life and I would love to explore those uncommon and less chartered territories in the journey of life.
I want to be a better human being in the course of my life. I am ready to leave no stone unturned for achieving my goal. It might sound abstract when I say that I want to be a better human, but too much of practicality and mundane realities of the world we live in have already come to dehumanize us and rob us off the emotions that make use ‘human.’ When I talk about human nature and emotions of life, I am reminiscent of the seminal work by one of the most favorite literary artists, Franz Kafka. Kafka’s The Metamorphosis has made me learn so much about the society, the world around, humanity and inter-personal relationships. I was deeply intrigued to read this novella by the famous author. I was stirred by the sheer affective appeal of the entire narrative as one comes across the ill-fate of the male protagonist of this story, Gregor. Even after days of reading the story, I found my mind wondering about the narrative, the characters, their dynamics with one another and the influence of the society on the people portrayed in the story by Kafka.
The more I thought, more I realized how this is not just a story about a man getting transformed into an insect. This is not just a story about his impediments, his emotions, the descent into the oblivion of his own family and his ultimate end. The narrative and the portrayal of the author resonated in my mind for days, as I came to realize that this is a story about human nature in general and shows how humans are transformed by the mundane struggles of life in the modern times. Indeed, the physical change of the male protagonist should be seen more as a symbolic representation of this metamorphosis of humans owing to the onus of life and society. The struggles of life take a toll on the individual as happened in the case of Gregor. Gregor was left alienation inside his own house after getting transformed into the insect. The emotions and feelings of his own family toward him changed with time as they literally gave up on him. The story shows how the dreams and aspirations of the people of his family changed the focus while Gregor was left in oblivion. He was kept away from the public eye and the people of his family did not even bother to look for any remedy to the problem. The ultimate end of Gregor’s life stirred me to the very core as I was scared to see the dehumanization process inflicted upon Gregor in the course of the narrative by the other characters.
I would rather be a lover of literature who tends to learn a few valuable lessons for such literary works. I really do not wish to be living with the burden of the immense struggles of life so as to finally succumb in the long run. At one point of time in the course of the narrative the author pens, “At that time Gregor’s sole desire was to do his utmost to help the family to forget as soon as possible the catastrophe that had overwhelmed the business and thrown them all into a state of complete despair.” (Kafka, 1915) This shows how the family was dependent on Gregor’s earning after the business of his father had failed. One comes to realize how the responsibilities of the family were on Gregor’s shoulders before. But, everything had changed after his transformation. Although the family was struggling, Gregor could not do anything to help them. I was really pained to read this in the course of the story. I was haunted with the thought that if anything bad happened to me, what the condition of my near ones would be. I surely did not want myself in a difficult situation like the protagonist of Kafka’s story.
Personally, I would never like to get so much worked up in life so as to lose my own self. I would not like to lose myself in the race that the entire society is engaged in. I ardently hope that the mundane realities of humans struggle never come to change me as a person. I do not want to be left in oblivion under any circumstance. I want to be happy and make others happy. Unlike Gregor, I would love to have a commonplace life with my loved ones. Now, when I introspect, I come to realize that somewhere down the line, the basic essences of Affluenza and The Metamorphosis have a commonality. Truly, both the texts discuss about the way of life and the influences of the society and the norms on the individual. I believe that the best thing in life is to imbibe the aesthetic experience that the world has to offer. Most of the people in this world are left caught up in the mundane chores and fail to experience the beauty and bliss that encompass us. I would not like to spend my life constricted by work, onuses, commitments and other drudgeries. I would not like to fade out like poor Gregor did inside the very room he was confined in. I do not want a life of constrictions and claustrophobia for myself in any way.
Kafka has penned in the course of the narrative, ““He must go,” cried Gregor’s sister, “that’s the only solution, Father. You must just try to get rid of the idea that this is Gregor. The fact that we’ve believed it for so long is the root of all our trouble.”” (Kafka, 1915) This was truly very painstaking for me as a reader to realize that struggles takes such a toll that human relationships get undermined in the course of life. I do not want this happening with me. So, I would like to live happily with my family, my parents, and my friends giving utmost value to the relationships. I know that love and care lasts longer than monetary gains. I would like to take life as it comes, but explore the intricacies of relationships and never bow down in front of the mundane pressures of life. I would earn as much money possible for me to live happily with my close people. My ambition would be to have the perfect abode which would be like my cozy nest. I would chat and laugh with my close people, and go to sleep with a smile on my face. I do not want my mind to think of money or the pressures of life all the time as that would surely be something thwarting my happiness and well-being.
I would also love to travel to explore the corners of the world, and imbibe the unparalleled beauty of Mother Nature. I want to find the perfect route of escapism from this consumer culture and materialistic world of drudgeries to find emancipation in the arms of nature. We as humans are too much engulfed with the artificial world around that we have created for ourselves. By the time I am old, I want to be able to say to my grandchildren that I have explored so many places. I want to have true stories of adventure and happiness that I can tell them from the bottom of my heart. I want to be ‘affluent’ in culture, experience and happiness in life. Money for me is not the way to be ‘affluent’ in the truest sense of the world. I am reminiscent of the text, “The Consolations of Philosophy”, that I have read some time back. Truly, all that comes to us in life can be taken away at the will of fate. Nothing is permanent in this temporal world. The book opines how it is so very unwise to become attached to any temporal thing in life. I completely comply with this philosophy of life.
The text further discusses how the materialistic things in life cannot be the proper source of happiness for anyone. Indeed, material pleasures cannot be deemed to be the ultimate source of happiness and well-being in life. The author opines in the course of the text, “We suffer because we cannot spontaneously master the ingredients of fulfillment.” (de Botton, 2000) I take this as one of the biggest truths in life. The way the author delves into the works of Socrates, Seneca, Epicurus, Nietzsche, Montaigne and Schopenhauer is truly commendable. I am deeply influenced by the fact that one should come to peace with issues like lack of money or anxiety. Bolton pens, “We don’t exist unless there is someone who can see us existing, what we say has no meaning until someone can understand, while to be surrounded by friends is constantly to have our identity confirmed; their knowledge and care for us have the power to pull us from our numbness.” (de Botton, 2000) This is exactly what I want in my life. I want to be free from all the drudgeries of the world and develop the bond of companionship and love with the people I care about. I want to enjoy every moment of life sans any worry about the parameters constructed by the society for being ‘happy.’ I know what I want in my life.
I would travel the world and bask in the happiness of experiencing the things that are mostly left unexplored. I would like my friends and near ones come along with me to share the experience. I would love to gaze at the azure sky from up there in the mountain, I would love to swim in the sea like having found freedom from every problem of the practicalities of life, and I would like to walk through the dense forest with the fear in my heart that I can be attacked by a wild beast. Yes, that is life for me. I want to be a ‘human’ in the real sense of the term. I would not be caught up in the superstructure of artificiality and shallowness created by the modern society. I would live a life that would let me be exuberant all the while. Years after, I would look back in happiness and share my memories. I would cherish every moment spent with the loved ones in the lap of nature for my entire life. It is my way of being good in life. I want to nurture my emotions, my relationships, my worldview and my experiences. If that seems different, it better be so. I will work my best to make my life good in the way I wish to.
References
de Botton, Alain. (2000). The Consolations of Philosophy. New York: Pantheon Books.
Hamilton, Clive & Denniss, Richard. (2005). Affluenza. Australia: Allen & Unwin.
Kafka, Franz. (1915). The Metamorphosis. Leipzig: Kurt Wolff Verlag.
