Recognizing the self within

About two weeks ago, NPR did a story with an existential slant.  I wish I knew which religious/humanist leader they were interviewing, but he made a point that I’ve been thinking about ever since.  He said that in our society today, very few people take the time to recognize the self within (their soul).  People are just too preoccupied with their outer self, the job they do have or are supposed to have; the lifestyle they want to portray to their peers.  There is this huge laundry list of “stuff I have to accomplish in order to be defined” that we don’t have any time, energy or interest in examining what may be stirring when we are not.  We, as an entire society, have decided to opt-out of defining ourselves.  We don’t look within for guidance, direction or answers.  We just “plug-in” to society and download our pre-defined purpose: 1) do good in school (be popular and athletic) 2) go to college (have fun) 3) get a job working for a large conglomerate (public or private) 4) work your butt off 5) get an advanced degree (MBA preferred) 6) work butt off even harder 7) tangentially raise kids and participate in a marriage 8) accumulate wealth and display it (even if you charge it) 9) lose butt to credit card companies 10) end up an empty shell.  Well, maybe not this extreme, but FAR too many people jump on these lily pads across the pond of life.

How would our individual lives be enhanced if we spent just a fraction more time contemplating our own unique purpose in life?  (Surely everyone doesn’t need an MBA or law degree, right?) How would our culture be improved?  Our consumption culture creates for us a giant hamster wheel, and most of us just slave along hoping to get our cheese (or, after a long, long run retire to the “good life” where there is plenty of wood shavings where we can rest our well-worked out butt).  What would happen if we actually just jumped off the wheel?  Shouldn’t we at least be asking ourselves “Is this what I want to sign up for?”

Totally unrelated, except for the reference to the hamsters, I totally love the new Kia commercial.