Dichotomy: Self vs. Others

“To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether 'tis Nobler in the mind to suffer
The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune,
Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them: to die, to sleep
No more; and by a sleep, to say we end
The Heart-ache, and the thousand Natural shocks
That Flesh is heir to?”

Vanity. Is that not what the point of Hamlet’s words were?

Perhaps or perhaps not.. Depending on your perception of the problem, the problem itself can take on a meaning that is never explained by facts. Just as the denial of one’s own propensities makes an individual foolish in the eyes of others and is a blinding arrogance, also is the ignorance caused by selfishness.

Vanity is rather simple. Anything that only prevails in the short term or anything that serves to destroy what is good is vanity. Sometimes I prefer to use the word meretricious instead of vanity, because it accurately describes the perception of something good that is really a deception. I earnestly believe that the smallest joys in life are long term and that the greatest glories witnessed in this Universe are a testament to something much greater. Prevalent is the ideology, “For the greater Good”. However, mediocre is the response to endure suffering, misfortune, or victimization. Yet society tells us that anything else is cowardice, destitution, arrogance. By what comparison can such secular claims be substantiated when everyone has the right path, as if there is no danger to all the paths?

If it appears that I’m asking loading questions then it must also appear that I’m generalizing a concept based on dissonance. There is a lot of truth to that, especially in light of my personal opinion regarding the pursuit of moral high-ground within the flood of debauchery that penetrates a heart hardened by the environment. I sympathize with any human, even the privileged. However, I’m not privy to gullibility by believing a one-sided story as the conclusion of a twist in a real-life plot. My silence is not because I am without an opinion or wisdom, it is because the ears to hear my words are not able to discern what they hear. I find it very difficult to juggle between objectivity and empathy when admonishment and a second opinion is nigh, even if it means respect for me is lost. A fool can not understand the words of the wise, because the fool can not understand what separates them from the wise until the fool learns the folly of their ways.

I have no proposition or philosophy to bring a solution that isn’t the words of others. I have the choice to talk about what I think, all day long, but I don’t have the option of making sense to those my words are intended to reach. This is because I am not able to cause conviction of hearts or enlighten souls. I can do my part to help plant the seed, but the increase comes from elsewhere. This doesn’t mean it is any less difficult to accept my limitations even though I do not bow down to the limitations.

I could just spell everything out, but I am appealing to those who can’t accept the truth and those who believe the truth comes in many forms. In time I will spell things out concisely and without hesitation. However, I fear of that time because it will be evident that a gentle whisper must become a deafening roar.

What I suggest to any individual is the relinquishment of control. The fact of reality is that we have no control, outside of the self. We are born without choice, we are subjected to many things without choice, and we can fight to the death to manifest our own will. However, all must realize the cold, hard truth that the most basic principle to human existence is that we must make choices that affect us personally and also others.

Certainly there is a false dichotomy. Humanity is symbiotic to the planet and also within itself. The most obvious conclusion is to maintain a universal essence of some kind, be it through virtues or domination. What we aren’t told is that there is no hope in this world that is by the power of humanity. No man, woman, child, invention, or principle can change that. That is why the greatest hope is not found through the intricacies of sophistication or interconnected consciousness. Prolonging the inevitable is coping, which isn’t a cure. If there is any hope for humanity, it is beyond the power of the universe; humanity is the immovable object and the Universe is an unstoppable force that have collided. Humanity may have a great gift of being unique from the rest of it’s surroundings, but it is humanity’s perception that must change because it is humanity that desperately needs hope.

I have found that hope, along with billions of others. The fight isn’t over, because billions more need to awaken and see the light. Yet no one will see the light if they do not feel it’s warmth from those who hold it in their hands.