| | "Modern man has brought this whole world to an awe-inspiring threshold of the future. He has reached new and astonishing peaks of scientific success. He has produced machines that think and instruments that peer into the unfathomable ranges of interstellar space. He has built gigantic bridges to span the seas andMartin Luther King, Jr. gargantuan buildings to kiss the skies. His airplanes and spaceships have dwarfed distance, placed time in chains, and carved highways through the stratosphere. This is a dazzling picture of modern man's scientific and technological progress.
Yet, in spite of these spectacular strides in science and technology, and still unlimited ones to come, something basic is missing. There is a sort of poverty of the spirit which stands in glaring contrast to our scientific and technological abundance. The richer we have become materially, the poorer we have become morally and spiritually. We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers.
Every man lives in two realms, the internal and the external. The internal is that realm of spiritual ends expressed in art, literature, morals, and religion. The external is that complex of devices, techniques, mechanisms, and instrumentalities by means of which we live. Our problem today is that we have allowed the internal to become lost in the external. We have allowed the means by which we live to outdistance the ends for which we live. So much of modern life can be summarized in that arresting dictum of the poet Thoreau: 'Improved means to an unimproved end.' This is the serious predicament, the deep and haunting problem confronting modern man. If we are to survive today, our moral and spiritual "lag" must be eliminated. Enlarged material powers spell enlarged peril if there is not proportionate growth of the soul. When the "without" of man's nature subjugates the "within," dark storm clouds begin to form in the world."
- Martin Luther King, Jr., excerpt from speech given when receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964
The part of this speech that caught my attention the most was the third paragraph speaking of how people have allowed the "internal" to become lost in the "external." Thoreau's words ("Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention
from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end,
an end which it was already but too easy to arrive at."; Thoreau, Walden) follow that same point. The point, to me, is that people have become preoccupied with superficial things in life that ultimately do not matter. Whether it's "bling", cool electronics, pretty shoes/bags, a mansion, or any other form of extravagance, it seems like too many people have forgotten that they are all simply a means to an end, not the end itself.
My dad once told me that if he could somehow buy true happiness with money, that he would take that deal anytime without hesitation. His point was that true happiness is so hard to come by, and his implication with his "if" was that money did not always get you true happiness. That statement from my dad struck me as particularly profound when he said it to me (although I didn't really understand the implications at the young age at which he told me), and has always lingered at the back of my mind to this day. After thinking about it for a while, I have to agree with both his statement and its implications, because I too believe that true happiness is a precious thing that money pales in comparison to.
What leads me to those conclusions are the facts that one can never have "enough" money, and there will always be better and/or nicer things to purchase and own. I've known and know of many people who appear to have everything a person could ask for (a large house, a nice car, expensive belongings, etc.) but remain unhappy and unsatisfied with their lives. On the other end, I've known and know of many people who appear to live a very mediocre life in terms of material value, but who are very happy and satisfied with their lives. I can't help but take this as evidence that money and material objects do not bring happiness by themselves, but that they are simply a means to achieving it.
Don't get me wrong though, I'm not saying that I think money is worthless and that I wouldn't take it if you gave it to me (I'm not THAT idealistic). Money has very real value in that it gives people security, opportunity, and an increased ability to dictate one's own life. However, I think many people neglect the fact that money, like so many of those "external" things that MLK speaks of, are merely tools we use to achieve our goals, means to our ends. So many people get caught up in "the race" to obtain money and other material things that they forget that obtaining those things is only the first step towards true happiness. It's not wrong to want more money and more material things, but only wanting those things limits one's life in terms of achieving happiness.
I'm not making this post to preach to anyone, or to tell anyone that they're living their life wrong, I'm mostly just thinking out loud. I have never been a person who has been very preoccupied with material things, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Every once in a while I am tempted to purchase some material thing that seems pretty cool and that many people seem to want (if they all want it, maybe I should too?), but I usually decide against it after considering the matter for very long. Things like expensive cars, iPods, advanced gadgets like digital cameras or flatscreen TVs, name brand clothing, etc. all have appealed to me at various times, but I usually end up concluding that I could very easily do without those things and that they would give me very temporary happiness or enjoyment, thus making the typically large expenditures of money (and thus my time and effort) not worth the cost of acquisition. Sometimes I think I'm depriving myself of things unnecessarily, but then what my dad told me years ago and speeches/quotes from people like MLK or Thoreau remind me that I'm not really depriving myself of anything unless a purchase will bring a worthwhile amount of happiness to me or to those I care about.
Summary (for people like Jon):
My opinion:
Time/Effort -> Money -> Expenditures/Purchases/etc. -> Happiness
What I see and disagree with (missing the last step):
Time/Effort -> Money/Expenditures/Purchases/etc./Happiness?
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| | Posted 1/21/2008 10:10 AM - 25 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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