"I complained I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet…” somehow, I cannot wrap my brain around this thought provoking proverb. Firstly, it instills in you the idea to feel a certain amount of pity towards someone without having the right to do so. I mean who the hell are you to feel that way about someone? For all you know, he could be doing far better than you, be highly spiritually inclined, and be an extremely extraordinary person; the kind you could only dream to be. It seems rather arrogant to pass judgment without knowing the nuances of a person’s life.
Secondly, it makes me realize how from the time we take our first steps in the world, we are taught to derive sadistic pleasure. Hear (or read) me out! This is not a cynical spin on life; I genuinely believe the seeds of a vicious attitude towards life are sown just like this… only it’s packaged exquisitely.
You can trace it back to that time in first grade (or whichever grade suits you), when you wanted that pencil box or water bottle your classmate had and your parents refused to get for you. To make you stop pestering them, they taught you a moral lesson; “learn to appreciate what you have because there are also those who don’t have even that.”
Bang! So the next time you wanted something, that someone else had, you compared yourself to a whole different person who didn’t have something you had. It’s a vicious cycle that goes on from then on. You grow up competing and comparing and no, such an attitude is not very becoming because before you know it, you start deriving sadistic pleasure seeing someone without something you have and adore. Everything becomes a competition and boils down to comparison. You go about living life with all it’s complications (basically what makes life worth living) reassuring yourself that you’re not the only one suffering, you’re not the only one helpless, that there are countless like you, some in far worse situations and you should only be glad you’re not facing what they are.
How does that qualify as sound moral advice? If the only way you can lead life, is by comparing its trials and tribulations to the even more mammoth one’s faced by others and being satisfied you’re not facing them, are you really living life the healthy way? If you only realize the importance of winning by comparing it to someone’s loss, is it really a victory to be triumphant about? I don’t want to take an idealistic twist here but I genuinely believe happiness gained by measuring it with someone else’s sadness is merely an excuse for the real thing; that which lasts way longer. And yes, I also understand that these are abstracts and can only be compared to their opposites or in relativity but it is not necessary to involve another person’s misgivings into the picture. If you work hard enough to achieve something and eventually get it, the fulfillment at reaching it should be enough! It is enough!
The world-Our world would be a much better place if we all stop deriving malicious pleasure out of our fellow being’s shortcomings. The concept of happiness should not have to pass the test of comparison with another person’s experiences, good or bad. The goal is to attain peace and contentment and to enjoy their essence to the fullest. So to live life in its truest sense, it is imperative we learn not to malign the concept happiness for others or ourselves.
