Sanity’s Necessary Lie.
Why we lie about our status in life to keep from going nuts.
Humanity wishes to live outside of its limits. We as a species want to be more than human and we often see connections to something greater than humanity and that brings us higher by proxy.
I’ll take the example of Buddha; the man had a message of compassion, self-awareness, and questioning the status quo. Today, the man is seen as a giant, golden figure with long ears and a huge belly. How the heck did that happen? Why did the focus go from his teaching to displaying his divine qualities?
Most people seem to think they’re better than pretty much everyone else. If they didn’t, gossip wouldn’t be so popular and fun. How can we justify finding some small fault in someone and expanding it immensely for our own ego’s satisfaction? Perhaps it’s because we fear how capable someone is. Not that they are a threat, but because they don’t have our interests in mind. It’s a little disheartening to think that in the world of 6 billion people, only two or three really want to see you advance. But if those 6 billion people just happen to suck, who cares?
Imagining lots of people as unstellar examples of humanity helps us get by when see all the apathy and insecurity of the world. It also helps us ignore the fact that we ourselves aren’t that great. If you really considered the impact on the world a small office could have, you may be shocked these employees aren’t doing more. Also, getting to know if someone is a decent person takes a lot of time and I already blow over 40 hours a week on unfulfilling job related activities. I don’t need to spend another six months to find out my co-worker is a douchebag.
Furthermore, imagining we are stronger and more capable than we are also helps distract us from the sheer terror of how easily our life can be destroyed. For the untold number of people living from paycheck to paycheck, a minor conflict can destroy their life. Their car breaks down or a poor performance review and suddenly they could have no means to support themselves and no savings because they’ve had to put most of their paycheck into student loans. Okay, so that’s my life and the student loans aren’t going away anytime soon. Imagining that I’ll one day become a big name writer, producer, and superhero helps me take the edge off the fact that if I don’t have my car I can’t do my job and without my job I’ll be homeless in month.
It isn’t just that there is so little keeping us secure, but how much of our self-centered worlds revolve around one game we enjoy or a significant other willing to put up with our dirty socks. That single rock in our life keeping us from falling in an otherwise meaningless void. If you want to think of yourself as smarter than most people, more aware, fine. It’s cool. We all think it. It’s better than obsessing about the alternative. Life’s hard, so why not talk bad about it in the lunch room behind its back. Of course, the people who build themselves up by associating themselves with something more powerful like gods or celebrities, you still suck and that makes me better than you.
Ha, see what I just did there.
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