by Temujin

Just about no-one reading this will have many problems regarding employment, education to at least a basic standard or basic material essentials such as food, shelter and clothing. Such is the Western world today.

However, turning on the television will reveal a world where juvenile delinquency and teenage pregnancy is on the rise. We're becoming wealthier constantly almost, but certainly not wiser. You only have to glance at the rants, advice and help & support boards to get a feel for how many depressed women and sexually frustrated men there are. We have money flowing in, cheap and available food and clothing and the ability to chat with people on other continents but we aren't happy.

I forget the precise figure but ITV revealed about a year ago that millions (perhaps as many 6) in the UK were on antidepressants. If we took the money for that and reinvested, we could build hundreds of schools and staff them, or buy a new nuclear fleet. Not to mention, if we could stop those people being depressed, we'd have far more money in taxes, far more happiness in society and less crime.

I don't want to sound like a hippy, but material things are overrated. A nice dress is great, but it won't give you an evening of interesting conversation. Likewise, straight As will get you into a good university (unless you're the victim of social engineering, but I'll write about that another time) but they won't guarantee you good friends. That's not to say a bad dress or straight Es will get you your friends or good date, just that we overestimate the worth of money, possessions and exam results insofar as they relate to how happy or satisfied we are with life.

One of the first tenets of Buddhism (I believe) is that you must love yourself before loving anything else. I'm sure we all know enough about Buddhism to see that they aren't arrogant show offs, and this piece of advice is a good piece. If you can't like yourself, then you'll spend your life hiding insecurities with masks instead of living as yourself. I think that we'd have less crime and depression if people tried to see themselves as valuable members of society rather than subject to the whims of others. Trying to satisfy other people endlessly is a route to unhappiness, I think. I'm not saying be utterly selfish, just that we aren't marionettes jumping to the tune of others, unless we allow ourselves to be.

Anyway, this was a somewhat rambly article (yet again) but I hope it made a little sense. In any case, you must've been at least vaguely interested to have read this far.