Is That all There Is?
Modern life is insane. For those lucky enough to have a normal childhood with loving parents in a safe country, life is quite good for a good while, because it is carefree, especially from zero to 6. After 6, life gradually takes a few twists that often bring us to wondering “why”… We are gradually “enlisted in the ranks” of the working ants… primary school, high school, college, university… and then the 9 to 5 (or 7 to 7 or whatever) 40 year marathon. We have kids, who repeat the process in the endless cycle that seems sometimes quite pointless. But there is a point, even if we don’t “get it”…
I did many things in my life. I was a truck driver, I installed pools, I worked in a lumber yard, I worked as grip on movie sets, I studied pure sciences and completed an honour’s degree in pure math, I worked 6 years as computer programmer and software design in C and C++, I studied economics and finance, I was economist in a central bank, I started a website, and I teach economics and finance and I do consulting in finance and public policy, as well as being a currency trader and forex trading coach… and I sometimes take a step back and wonder about modern times. A crazy world.
Since I am an avid reader of History, I know that life was very rough for a long time for most people. Read about anything available about History and it is essentially a long list of brutality, hunger, and violence, with a very slow and gradual improvement in material standards of living and basic human rights.
Yet, when I see what we are doing to ourselves today, working away at mostly meaningless, brainless jobs (not me, but the majority) in cold, lifeless fields of cubicles with neon lights in setups that make it look like the Matrix movie, endless manufacturing plants with repetitive and mind-numbing tasks and long hours with wages that border on slavery, and other day-to-day drudgery, I truly wonder: are we really better off with all this “modern time comfort”? Is this really better than the freedom (and danger) of roaming the fields and forests like our very ancient pre-agriculture ancestors did?
Coping with the insanity
Although crime and war are definitely on a downward trend since the 1800s, when we look at current indicators of crime, anxiety, obesity, health problems, and depression rates, there seems to be serious problems in the USA. All this “growth and wealth creation” is obviously not helping the masses to relax, chill out, and enjoy life! Quite the contrary: we are all going crazy!
I teach in university to people who are roughly between 20 and 30 and I see the anxiety, stress, and pressure. Mind you, it is as bad for older folk, but they just learned to suck it up and endure the drudgery of the weekly routine, because, well… “that’s life”, right?
Life in North America has become an endless repetition of work, paying bills, and a deluge of compulsive disorders to deal with the ridiculous absence of purpose or meaning that necessarily accompanies the “Standard American Lifestyle”, which is really just the standard modern lifestyle of industrialized countries: go to school, get up, work, pay bills, do the normal stuff like cleaning and groceries, sleep, enjoy your 2 or 3 weeks out of 52 of annual vacations… and use your money and spare time to dull the brutal truth of the meaningless life of modern times so that denial is easier to perpetuate… we “escape” with all sorts of mechanisms: lots of food, bad food, sugar, smoking, coffee, drugs hard and soft, alcohol, sex, porn, shopping, unproductive social network surfing, video games, tv and Netflix binging, drama in our personal lives, bullying others, violence, aggression, etc… and for the luckier ones: work, sports, art, meditation, yoga, “causes”, spirituality, cooking… Everyone needs coping mechanisms, everyone needs a “fix”, because modern life is anti-human. Humans are designed for freedom and yet we live in a world of golden (and not-so-golden) cages and ridiculous social norms.
In many ways, ever since we have embarked on the path of Civilization about 10 000 years ago, we have gradually enslaved ourselves into a golden cage of soul-killing material prosperity that has diminished connection to others, which is the core of happiness and meaning. The cost of food and material security and material “comfort” is high for many: dulling down life or going crazy in the denial process, and repressing the very core of what humans are meant for: freedom! And I am not talking about voting, low taxes, or thin government, I am talking about that freedom of the soul we kill with our ridiculous modern setup and our mindless race-without-a-point.
Note that I am not “against” growth and economic prosperity, because now that we are too advanced in the process, we must push forward to move towards something considerably better, as “going back” is no longer an option and would probably end up just as bad, since we seem to lack collective wisdom and sanity, let alone the capacity for empathy or even simple common sense. Indeed, life is less brutal now than it was back in the times of the Egyptian or Roman Empires or any other time of post-agricultural History, which started roughly 10 000 years ago.
The human experiment must find a solution to the meaningless living we have imposed upon the masses in the name of food security and material comfort, with our regimented work-and-production-intensive lifestyles that make us try to “escape” reality instead of building a reality that is more livable, mindful, and meaningful… more human… more “living” and less synthetic, regimented, and artificial.
Humans have existed in their current form at birth for at LEAST 100 000 years. Yes, we are exactly the same at birth as we were 100 000 years ago. We have been hunter-gatherers for at least 90% of that time. Hunter-gatherer living is rough, with hunger, freezing, and the threat enemy tribes and death at every corner… but it has all the things modern life does not have: open space and “air”, no traffic jams, no soul-killing fields of cubicles, no endless waiting lines or overpacked subways, no staring at a computer screen for entire days, and all-organic eating and sunlight by default!
Is that all there is?
In the 1950s and 1960s, women in North America became “housewives”… they tended to the household and “waited for the husband” to return from work, keeping the house clean and tidy and being “perfect” with the “perfect house” and the “perfect” life… I am a man and I sometimes find that “feminism” has gone too far in many respects, but I certainly DO see the “slogan” of the 1970s housewives: is that all there is?!
Humans seek meaning beyond standard chores, material comfort, a job, and “what others think.” Humans seek purpose. Some find it in work or in family or in fame or in professional achievement. Others find another path. Some feel lost and alone. Some drift like lifeless drones.
If you find yourself sometimes wondering about the mystery of life and death and the point of it all, and how you can escape the rat race, rest assured: you’re not crazy; you are just more “conscious” and sensitive than most and more tuned in to your emotions and soul, while others are better at repressing these thoughts and feelings and at seeking comfort in the veil of denial and illusions that are pervasive of modern times.
How to cope
I don’t have an answer. All I can say is that once you “see” all this, it is strangely liberating, because you understand that we are ALL in this together, poor, rich, powerful and nobodies alike — we all share this ridiculous setup that we have built for ourselves, and the answer is certainly NOT communism, nationalism, wise dictatorships, or any social engineering propositions. We are quite insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but that can be viewed in a negative or positive way. I find it liberating. It puts perspective and gives courage to make major life moves.
The answer lies within yourself: learn, grow, find “flow” in your life and activities and relationships, stimulate your mind and soul, and be conscious of what you consume, on all aspects: what you “consume” for your body, your mind, and your soul!
Personally, I have found many things that make me feel good and growing: good and honest friends, cooking and learning about health in all aspects, latin dancing, a loving relationship with a sexy and witty feminine partner, reading and learning, rock climbing, music, running, traveling, learning new languages, teaching others about how to understand the global economy and global markets and trading, coaching others about career and life paths and decisions and how to become a better person and feel good in body and mind. I have been told by many that I fundamentally changed their lives in a positive way, and that brings meaning and purpose to my life. We “save the world” one soul at a time, starting with our own, in empathy and humility. Try to do the same and don’t try to control or change what you can’t: the world, global politics, global population, cruelty, injustice everywhere, and more… just strive to be happy and at peace with yourself, do what you can on your scale, and make others open their wings and feel good about themselves.
It’s fine to want to “save the world” with all sorts of causes: the environment, animals, poverty, household violence, the condition of women, and the list goes on forever… but don’t expect to turn it all around yourself. Do your little part and accept that the world is quite a crazy place and VERY imperfect and messy, with lots of injustice and cruelty, but also with lots of good people and progress. There is a point. We will know… one day… in this life or after… Live and accept the process. In the end, we all die, yes… but the process of living is amazing, it is a great trip of constant growth and learning, so we owe it to ourselves to make the best of it before the next part of our adventure arrives, “after.” By freeing our minds, we free the world.
How do you cope with modern times? What do you think of all this? Please like the story if you liked it, so that others may read it and share their own thoughts with us.
Enjoy the path!
Pascal Bedard
