We, as a species, have been amazingly successful.
Through the successes of cooperation, and the application of intelligence, we've created amazing civilizations.
Lots of them.
....Looking through history, at these various civilizations - from Asia, to the America's, to Europe, all seem to follow the same stages of developing, being dominant, and then, before their collapse, degradation.
We emerge as civilizations through a desire for security.
A security of resources....Food, sex , shelter...
So why the degradation?
The very success of civilizations is a double edged sword, as the collapse of civilizations always seems to originate from within it's own structures.
Why does this cycle repeat itself ?
...And why is it seemingly independent of geographical locations, or any particular period in history?
Boredom.
Most human beings need a certain amount of challenge in their lives, to stop them from sinking into the state of boredom.
Boredom is an emotional and psychological state, experienced when an individual is left without anything in particular to do, and is not interested in their surroundings.
A state of being where internal - or external - stimulus , fail to invigorate.
Boredom today, and the dangers of passivity.
For most of human history leisure was a luxury.
Working from dawn to dusk -just to survive- was the norm.
Men, women, and children all participated.
Up until most recently... (a couple of hundred years ago)
Until the dawning of the 20th century , all people - whether rich or poor - were laboring from morning till night without ever being able to indulge in a holiday, for example.
The 'holiday' is relatively new phenomenon, and speaks to the success of civilization - (providing free time to be able to choose ones activity) - but it has a cost, as does everything.
Nothing is free.
From the late 19th century and the intensification of the division of the labor, there occurred a 'leisure revolution'.
The regimentation of hours worked - associated with industrial work and efficiency - left the masses - for the first time in the modern era - with allotted 'free time'.
One hundred years or more have passed since this 'leisure revolution', and the fruits of civilization have become even more plentiful during that time - and an increased leisure time with it.
In the history of civilizations , the individual today, in the west, is relatively free from the daily struggle for survival.
But.... with this newfound freedom, a question arises:
What are we free for?
How do we use the time we have, time that is not devoted to the necessities of life?
Most people sink into conformity - and with that conformity mindset - implicitly assume that their free time is best spent resting, relaxing and passively consuming.
As a result of the conformity and the passivity - lives assume a common mold and follow a fairly predictable pattern.
The 20th century philosopher , Richard Taylor:
Most people are, in the most ordinary sense, very limited. They pass their time, day after day, in idle, passive pursuits, just looking at things -at games, television, whatever. ..Or they fill the hours talking, mostly about nothing of significance (take note, Hive... Insignificant wins no races)...of the comings and goings, of who is doing what, of the weather, of things forgotten almost as soon as they are mentioned....They have no aspirations for themselves beyond getting though another day doing more or less what they did yesterday.
They walk across the stage of life, leaving everything about as it was when they entered, achieving nothing, aspiring to nothing, having never a profound, or even original thought..
You may argue that there is nothing 'wrong' with this type of existence, and you would be correct, to some degree.
Modern life can be intense, rapid, and stressful - and with that, mental health problems are on the rise everywhere.
But, paradoxically...
More free time and relaxation in society - and indulging in the banal does not appear to be conducive in achieving more happiness.
A purposeful application of time seems far more likely to produce a higher state of happiness
Too much passive inactivity - rather than promoting mental health - tends to breed unhappiness, and with that - a plethora of psychological problems.
Boredom as a adolescent (I still remember!) is soon filled with activity and mischief - it is the natural state of nature - trying to fill a void.
Boredom is that void.
The statistics of adolescent depression has been sky rocketing this last two decades.
It's no coincidence that the emergence of passive activity on the internet emerged in parallel with 'rising depression statistics' with teens, all over the world, and in conjunction with the internet growth.
When the ultra energetic, inquiring teenager, does not have their days filled with tasks, challenges and purpose, depressive moods soon emerge.
Apathy, boredom, and passivity.
This then goes on to express itself in pessimism and nihilistic outlooks to life.
The human condition is not one of being passive.
It cannot be - we would never, as a species, achieved the things that we have.
"The idle mind is the devil's workshop," as they say..
The connection between passivity and mental illness is very real.
How then, do we address this issue in society?
We can waste our leisure time in idle pursuits...
And render ourselves prone to mental illness.
OR
We can strive to spend the majority of our free time creating, exploring, learning, and challenging ourselves and improving our talents.
We all have talents.
The latter option entails perseverance, effort, and the sacrifice of mediocrity and conformity to the masses.
The pay-off for choosing to tread the 'road less traveled', is mental health and personal growth.
It has been argued that maybe - for some individuals - passivity does not breed the mental negativity that it does in others.
I would argue that if this is not applicable to some people, it's not so much a result of the hypothesis being incorrect, but more attributive to the individual already being in a negative state, either from early years of juvenile passivity , or the the influence of the school indoctrination systems and the 'conformity principles'.
The effort required to produce and create is always worth the effort.
....Why?
Pride.
This is not to be confused with the narcissists strategies for narcissistic supply, or with the insecure desires for adoration (recognition).
This is a healthy pride, as in "the justified love of oneself".
Many people claim to love themselves but more often than not their self love is not pride - but narcissism.
How can you tell the difference?
As I've written recently in my posts about narcissists - one of the best ways to identify this is actions over words.
A couple of easy examples to differentiate the difference...(in yourself,and others.) Hive is awash with examples.
'Narcissistic self love' is extolling the virtues of health, online, while, at the same time, eating an unhealthy diet, gaining weight, suffering sleep deprivation, and doing no exercise.
'Pride self love', is extolling the virtues of health, online, while at the same time, eating healthily, maintaining fitness, sleeping well, and giving this advice to others.
One is authentic pride, one is narcissistic manipulation to create an image. (Image is everything to insecure narcissist)
..it's an arrogance - a shield, a constructed 'falseness'.
A mechanisms used to self protect them from their severe underlining insecurity and self-hatred).
Hence the one liner 'actions, not words'...
Another example, one that I see very prevalent..
'Narcissistic self love' is extolling the virtues of living debt free, reducing consumption, not being a wage slave for some corporation or other, while at the same time, being in debt to the financial institutions that they've just railed against, consuming resources for its own sake, and putting on a shirt and tie every morning to go please - and serve - their corporate masters.
'Pride self love', is extolling the virtues of living debt free, reducing consumption, not being a wage slave for some corporation or other, while at the same time, being debt free, consuming minimal resources for its own sake, and helping others to achieve this for themselves, through advice from experience.
One is authentic pride, one is narcissistic manipulation - a quasi virtue signalling of sorts, to create an image. (Image is everything to insecure narcissist)
To be truly proud, you must... "have the kind of love that is justified by the kind of person you are."
...The bizarre idea that some people are superior to others offends the modern worlds victim's mentality paradigm, one that's sprung up from decadence and boredom.
Thus, many confuse 'equal rights' with 'equal worth'.
Every individual has natural rights and requires to be treated equally before the law - justice.
It does not mean that every individual possesses the same worth.
FACTOID:
The ancient Greeks saw this as very self evident.
They recognized that while most dedicate their life to 'fitting in with the herd' a relative few cultivate non conformity, and from these individuals, produce an 'uncommon worth'.
It expresses as individual exceptionalism - one that's deaf to the applause, or to the opinions, of others.
END OF FACTOID
(Nietzsche's 'higher man').
So.... the next time you find yourselves reaching for the remote control, or engaging in passive activities on the internet, or discussing superficial, irrelevant subjects, ask yourself:
...is the comfort and pleasure derived from these activities, really worth the cost?
Passivity, and indulging in banal activity, plants within us , the very seeds of pessimism , depression and our own mental 'self destruction'....Mental illness.
Many people, perhaps most, are content with transient pleasures and satisfactions of the animal side of our nature.
(that'd be me, for over two decades...doh! )
Many people will count their lives as 'being successful' if they get through it with only minimal amount of pain, by conforming to their cultural norms, and the general approval of those around them. (not me).
To do what others do, and have done, is safe and comfortable.
To do something original however - whether it's appreciated by others or not, is what being human is really all about.
Those without originality profess the postmodernist perspective that 'nothing is original'. It's an attempt to justify there own position, and to drag 'the exceptional', the non conformist, down to a level of mediocrity, a place in which they excel.
It is that pursuit of originality that justifies the self-love , that's called pride.
Do you love yourself authentically - or are you just playing a narcissistic role?