Life is not a championship

Although we live as if it were

Why do we live as if we were surrounded by enemies and foes?

I see how we organize ourselves as a society and it gets me to think there’s something very wrong with it.

Every day, people are competing or trying to protect oneself.

You walk out in the street and people are rushing to see who gets to one’s destination first, who can jump more quickly in the subway, who run up the stairwell more rapidly.

You log into Facebook and Instagram and people are competing to see who had the most amazing weekend, who prepared the healthiest meal, or who’s got the better looking child.

Worse than competing, I understand we’re trying to protect ourselves from the enemy. We go out and we look scared. Someone talks to you and you get suspicious. An unknown number calls you on the phone and it bothers you. A proposal or opportunity is presented to you and you are certain someone is trying to frame you.

Where did it all come from? Why did we grow apart from one another?

For that, I don’t have an answer, but I see it being related to the notion of shortage we carry with us. We live with this idea that there’s not enough supplies to everyone. And if there is not enough to all of us, we must secure our share, protect ourselves and stock.

We were taught that mentality since we all were kids

There are not enough spots in the best colleges for all of us. So I must be better than the rest to get what’s mine.

There are not enough good jobs available to all of us. So I must prepare myself better to get what’s mine.

There is not enough room to different companies in the same industry or niche, so we must compete.

There is not enough open space in the bus to everyone, so I got to leave sooner.

There is not enough parking spaces and lane to both your car and mine. So I must be ahead of you.

Look at all that.

It makes sense now.

That’s why we live in an ever running competition. Every second we’re fighting for something.

But what it if we began to think differently? What if we reversed the logic?

Instead of guaranteeing what’s mine, why don’t we all gather together to create enough?

Instead of competing for the same few spots in good schools, why don’t we gather together to build more schools and colleges?

Instead of competing for the same little room available to all our cars, why don’t we share a ride or a cab?

Instead of fighting for the same few good job openings, why don’t we work together in the same enterprise?

Instead of stocking products, why don’t we gather together to produce more and spend less?

It all seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it? Buy why don’t we do it?

Because we are constantly protecting ourselves. And we are protecting ourselves from a non-existing enemy. We are protecting ourselves from “others”. But you must have heard sometime along the way that we are one. We are a part of what’s whole. There’s no such thing as the “others”.

From which can come to realize that are nothing but protecting ourselves from ourselves.

That’s a bit crazy, isn’t it? Does it make sense?

But then what? How do we break this chain?

Lowering our guard. Bringing down the walls that protect us from the “others”.

We can only cooperate when we trust.

Maybe that’s hard and goes against everything you learned.

Maybe you were misled by someone who took advantage of you.

But that’s the only way to change our society. And I truly believe that’s possible. I truly believe in people and that trust is achievable.

We have to stop racing to see who “gets there”. There is no “there” we ought to get to.

We have two possible paths:

a) to keep on going as usual and living in an ever lasting competition; or,

b) to lower our guard and be trustful and trustworthy.

I don’t want my life to be a competition and I choose the second path everytime.

What about you?

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Translated by my dear friend Gabriel Galo.