Vanity !
In our lifetime and in the context of the radio, the television and latest the Internet – in short, the era of the Media – Vanity is clearly one of the strongest drivers in the human experience and in the Quest for Happiness, for carriers, for relationships.
On the upside people set goals, they develop themselves, they are motivated. On the downside, people might become criminals, they might envy each other (or some, at least), and – worst of all – they may forget to reflect on the very Nature of being alive ! Yes, they may live in the blinfolded and totally unconstructive persuit of pleasing the surroundings to fulfill a certain ideal… for the pure reason of it’s… image. That is Vanity ! That is a waste of a Life ! Count how many you have !
Many years ago, the Philosopher Blaise Pascal realized all this. If you read his book ‘Penseés’ (anno 1670 !)(“Thoughts”) you will find hinsights that will make you think ! Think about how fragile and how insignificant our lives truly are. Just take in a few quotes:
We are so presumptuous that we should like to be known all over the world, even by people who will only come when we are no more. Such is our vanity that the good opinion of half a dozen of the people around us gives us pleasure and satisfaction.
Or how about this one:
How many Kingdoms know not of us ?
Think about these quotations for a sec. How can one really take the Vanity game of our lifetime truly seriously once realized that it’s just… abstractions. Fact is, we live and die and become dust. We disappear.
So much for Vanity !