“There is then no doubt that
these roads to happiness are no roads, and they cannot lead any man to any end where
they profess to take him. I would show you shortly with what great evils they
are bound up.
“Would you heap up money? You
will need to tear it from its owner.
“Would you seem brilliant by the
glory of great honors? You must kneel before their dispenser, and in your
desire to surpass other men in honor, you must debase yourself by setting aside
all pride.
“Do you long for power? You will
be subject to the wiles of all over whom you have power, you will be at the
mercy of many dangers.
“You seek fame? You will be drawn
to and fro among rough paths, and lose all freedom from care.
“Would you spend a life of
pleasure? Who would not despise and cast off such servitude to so vile and
brittle a thing as your body? How petty are all the aims of those who put
before themselves the pleasures of the body, how uncertain is the possession of
such? In bodily size will you ever surpass the elephant? In strength will you
ever lead the bull, or in speed the tiger? . . .”
—from
Book 3, Prose 8
We live
in a society deeply driven by the desire for profit, so the image of balancing
investment and gain can perhaps help us to understand the sort of life that offers
us the greatest benefit. At stake, however, is not merely how rich we may
become in money, but how rich we may become in happiness. For what we need to
put in, what are we really going to get out?
Only the
careless shareholder thinks he will earn anything at all from a company that
shows no opportunities for growth, just as only the foolish man thinks he will
find peace and contentment in anything incomplete and unreliable.
Sometimes
the prize seems so worth the effort, but we discover later that the returns
were far outweighed by the costs. We found ourselves tricked by the enticing
appearance, only to be disappointed by the bland reality. What is so surprising
is how often we see the failures of our choices, but we continue making the
same mistakes over and over, somehow thinking it will be different the next
time.
What
will we really get if we pursue all these false goods that present themselves
to us? They make all sorts of promises, while leaving us unfulfilled. It’s much
like that one toy a child wants for Christmas, and then he realizes it isn’t that
fun to play with at all, that the appeal was only in the advertising and the packaging.
The most
honest and simple reflection should show us how anything that leaves more to be
desired, that still has us in a state of worry and concern, can never be an end
in itself. It asks for more and more, while giving us less and less. Hard
experience will prove it to be true.
Money?
We will always have to fight to gain it, and then we have to fight even more to
keep a hold of it.
Honor?
We will have to sell our own integrity to impress others, and we become caught
up in seeming good instead of being good.
Power? We
assume we will have a control over others, when in fact those we try to
dominate end up having a control over us.
Fame? We
believe we will never be alone if we are loved by the many, only to find that
having so many followers is just another form of solitude.
Pleasure?
We pretend that the body is so strong, while all the effort of gratifying it
manages to leave us so weak.
In all
of these cases, what looked so liberating ends up being another prison, and it
is all because we are confusing what is imperfect with what is perfect, the
relative with absolute. To “gain” any of them will be worthless, a wasted
investment, without looking for something more constant and stable in our
lives.
Written in 9/2015
IMAGE: Ah, Sea Monkeys! The bringers of disappointment to so many young hearts!
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