Personal Opinions- What is success?
Recently I read an online blog. The topic of his post was 'Humans,' and revolved around discussing their faults and imperfections. The discussion quickly became a debate over several areas of human issues: Religion, politics, and philosophy. One idea that raised questions for me was that of 'human success.' What in actual fact is success, how do we acquire it, and does being 'successful' automatically fulfill you as a person.
Money. Merely pieces of paper, metal and plastic. Worthless and unusable as an object, yet the lives of human beings revolve around it. After years of bartering (exchanging goods in trade, not money) the first use of money as a means of trade emerged. The shekel, a large piece of solid silver around the size of a babies kidney, appeared around 12, 000 BC and would value around $700 today. Thousands of years ago human beings were already using money, not goods, to trade. In the past few centuries, money itself has grown into a necessity, bartering no longer acting as a way of trade.
The economic crisis is proof of how seriously money effects the lives of people. Food, water, accommodation, education, travel, child birth, medicine. All of these things rely on those worthless pieces of paper and plastic.
The question that I face, which is also an opinion and perspective, is this:
Has the human race become so brainwashed? Is money really the answer to becoming successful? Surely material gain, in the end, is worthless. Should it not be metaphorical success that we, as people, aim for?
Human beings in the present day are exposed to material every moment of their lives. Television, vehicles, clothing, and other lifestyle items, all an everyday part of the western society. The media has also contributed to the propagandized society, portraying the message of 'without this, you will not succeed.'
It would be hypocritical of me to say that money does not play an important part in my life. Because of course it does. I am one of the billions of human beings in the world today that is ruled by the overshadowing currency. My education costs money, and in a years time university will also cost me thousands of dollars. My food, clothing, and accommodation all costs me money (however I do live at home, so it is my parents who are paying accommodation). But my idea of success is not to live to one hundred years in a house the size of Auckland City with gold plated walls. In my eyes, if I live my life with peace, strength and love, then I will have succeeded.
I try to focus on the important things in my life, prioritize, and not let my selfish, conformed side of my personality, get the better of me. There will be moments when I see something that I want, and not necessarily need. Times where I desire to have more money so I can buy more clothes, more makeup. I try my hardest to appreciate what I have now, and I definitely don't take it for granted. It is, like was discussed in this recently read blog, a choice to succeed how you wish. Whether you believe to be wealthy is succeeding, or to live with love in your life, that is up to you.
More people need to focus less on material gain, and instead on those that are metaphorical. Human beings have become proud, money obsessed creatures, assuming that they are better than other species, and it is slowly killing them. However that is a completely different subject, which I will touch on later.
- Joy Foster
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