Many First World people think a “better life” only comes from material conditions because they have no perspective of anything different socially than a vacuous and shallow preoccupation with said conditions, which is everywhere around them at all times and drives the vast majority of their actions. With that as their basis for what thought and communication is, it is no wonder they place little value in those things.
But our thoughts and communications alone not only have the power to transform any situation but define what every situation is in the first place. Only those who have gotten a taste of and glimpsed the life-changing potential of rich inner worlds driven by empathy, compassion, logic, and deep, probing honesty mutually shared come to understand the very real difference our words, inside and out, can make on every single moment we’re alive.
But as it is broadly, too few people value these things, else thinkers, philosophers, poets, and artists wouldn’t over and over again through history languish in some mix of poverty and suffering, only mined of their wisdom in retrospect, posthumously.
life
We are each a tiny piece of the supremely complex machine of existence, most of which is likely to remain a mystery to us for the foreseeable future. And so, from our extremely limited perspectives within this massively complicated matrix of mysteries and the push-pull of unknown factors beyond our comprehension, our lives are destined to feel in relative chaos lest we take shelter in some protective bubble. Often I have found that the bubbles provided out-of-the-box of our birth are unfortunately (from the perspective of my current bubble at least) composed largely of illusion and delusion that frame this chaotic perspective as something else more mentally manageable. As something that feels agreeable by way of generations of social initiation, nostalgia, and other particularly emotional rather than logical connections. But even those committed to a life lived boldly true must shore themselves up within some bubble of “as far as I know” sense or risk becoming a lone, vulnerable leaf torn apart by the violent winds of “chaos,” which again, is not actually chaos but some conglomeration of factors too big for us to even get full visage of, let alone control.
So, come right this way. We have many models of mental shelters and bubbles available. Some like glass or clear plastic: weak but with a clear view of the outside. Some like brick or metal: much stronger, but offering zero perspective of anything but the minutia of the inhabitant’s small world. We could install a window or two for the latter if an Allegory-of-the-Cave-kinda experience is what you’re after. Most of us exist on a spectrum between these two extremes (generally closer to the latter), so we’ve likely seen others in their bubble from our own (and judged them and their bubble, of course). We’ve seen the soap bubble occupier in a perpetual state of being either confused or completely lost as they move from one volatile circumstance to another whenever their latest temporary bubble breaks like so many before under the teensiest pressures of reality. And we’ve seen the iron bubble occupier, so preoccupied with their own inane life and rules that they’re completely oblivious to anything outside that context. So… made up your mind? No pun intended. Keep in mind: there’s no warranties. Our bubbles burst too regularly for that, but we have many, many suitable replacements ready (even of the lemons that are guaranteed to break from the sneeze of only one of God’s nostrils). And we’re always coming up with new bubbles to try out when the old ones our ancestors used don’t work so well no more. Also, it’s not that big of a deal, but before you make your final decision, keep in mind that many throughout history have died for their choice of bubble.
Kidding aside, I believe shoring oneself up to thrive as well as one can despite any eventualities that could arise in the relative chaos of ours lives is paramount to both living a life worth the limited energy we’re allotted at birth and surviving it true of heart within a bubble of composed of as little illusion and/or delusion as possible. Which means… at the very least… looking at the most significant things in our lives (actions, histories, routines, habits, people, places, values, et al.) from as many perspectives as possible. Both from in and out of our current value system. In the full, fantastical scope of possibilities: past, present, and future. If this happens; or this; or you do this; or this comes out of nowhere. From the perspective of a life subjectively better; and worse; and just different. From the perspective of others both close and intimate to us and far and away.Though we likely cannot, and maybe will never, see the absolute truth, the broader the scope of introspection, the more we can assure ourselves we are moving towards it simply because we are moving ever away from falsehoods.
This doesn’t mean worrying. Rather, it means, when the circumstances of life change for whatever reason–and they will in all but the most socially protected of bubbles–one has already dealt with and processed all the possibilities and their negative effects. So this process of broad and deep introspection frees one of worry, at least as far as we can humanly achieve. Because there’s nothing we humans fear more than the unknown. Even if we are enticed toward something completely opposite of who we are for whatever reason, change generally happens over time in steps. Seen in captures of skipped time, how one has moved from one place to another might often be shocking. (This is basis of much art and entertainment.) But over the normal, moment-to-moment passage of time, even the most grand of changes is unnoticed for how incremental it is. This is true of both individuals and organizations, from families to nations to humanity as a whole.
Those necessary alternate perspectives, which collectively generate wisdom that can persist outside of our individual bubbles, can be shared/taught, as they are through a good book or movie, but even the most comprehensive work will always pale in comparison to the full, uncontextualized experience of life lived oneself. Especially that of life lived with a mindset of broad introspection. But even so, we are creatures bound by the here-and-now, so that which we share socially (via whatever language or medium), allowing access to perspectives otherwise difficult or impossible to experience (albeit with the understanding they will all be to varying levels of limited and biased) is just as vitally important as getting out there and living ourselves.
And it’s important to know experience alone isn’t wisdom. Just because we learned something from an event (whether it be conscious, as in a statement we can tell ourselves, or unconscious, as in an instinctive reaction) doesn’t mean we learned something worthwhile that we should pass on as wisdom. In fact, funnily enough because of our regular lack of introspective preparation, we very often learn the opposite of what’s worthwhile by sudden force of need, developing unhealthy coping mechanisms, going on to socially distribute disinformation based on limited perspective, and so on. We shouldn’t consider an event fully understood, and act/live upon it, until we’ve looked at it through through a test of more broadly-evaluated introspection.
If you do such broad and deep introspection enough, it inevitably becomes an important part of your personality due to how powerful it is as a habit. But learning to be comfortable in the state of virtuous uncertainty that comes with in a world largely incompatible with any form of doubt–by nature of our cultures being designed principally by those who have ruled from extremely dense, blind, and protected bubbles–is an even more difficult skill. Most will simply choose to live out their life in the most comfortable bubble near to that of the bubbles they spent considerable time in and around in their youth, and that’s that.
