“The greatest mystery about a human being is not his
reaction to sex or praise, but the manner in which he contrives to put in
twenty-four hours a day. It is this which puzzles the longshoreman about the
banker, and the Londoner about the bushman.” – Sinclair Lewis
I feel
as though I have reached a particular point within my life where questions and
criticisms abound concerning all matters of life. With graduation approaching
for my undergraduate studies, I am now faced with the concept of what is often
called “entering the real world.” However, I find it to be a struggle to
understand and discern the difference between the life that I know and am
currently living to that of which the future holds. Further concerning is why
it seems as though most people, perhaps as the product of our cultural
structure, seem contrived to express dissatisfaction with “the real world” and
long for the period in which I am now apparently departing.
First
off, I wish to ponder the concept of “the real world” as commonly expressed in
western culture. It concerns me to think that the society in which our lives
are apparently governed seems to have produced a concept of life and time as it
relates solely to “money” and “work.” Often the expression is said “time is
money” and to me, that thought is terrifying. The issue to which I have been
grappling with is that I constantly find myself at odds with the structure of
life set before me by society, but I fear that if I fail to conform to its
demands that my experience in life will be adversely affected to a greater
extent than if I were to simply conform and accept the present dogma.
I
question my purpose within life. As the concept of the “real world” would have
it, my life is purposeful, but as a functioning cog within a machine that works
to turn another cog. If I fail as a part of the machine, like a malfunctioning
part of an engine, I will be replaced with no real loss. Perhaps it is due to
my understanding of mechanics and automobiles, but I often liken the operations
of individuals or society as a whole to the various mechanisms found within the
automobile. Each component serves a function that serves to allow for the
correct and efficient operation of the machine as a whole. However, I must
ask... who in their right mind is excited to become a miscellaneous part within
society? Further intriguing; if society
is compared to a machine or automobile, who or what then is the operator?
I have
come to the personal conclusion that we
are the drivers of society. Collectively, people develop and maintain the
structures that seem to be concrete in defining the patterns and purposes of
our lives and the ideologies that we strive for. Society is malleable and
changes over periods of time, although certain internal structures have existed
since the first human communities have evolved. What then defines the
parameters and ideologies of society are those who maintain power at the
current period.
Today
we live within a culture that bases wealth and success upon the concept of
money, materialism and influential power. The “wealthiest” members of society
are those who own and operate corporations, or who own a share of something, or
own power over someone; the key word is own. Wealth as it relates to ownership
translates to either influential power and/or money. These are the individuals
and groups of people to which society has been structured and it serves them to
their benefit. As for the rest of us who do not belong to the elite members of
society, we must conform to the structures derived for us. In return for our
cooperation we are given small parts that give us power, either money or
recognition in form of awards, but only enough to keep us satisfied with the
mundane lifestyle offered as a functioning cog within the society machine.
Wow
that is a really depressing and cynical view of the world and isn’t this
supposed to be a blog about cycling? I reassure you that I have not entered
manic depression, nor have I ultimately rejected any purpose for life... but
yet I recognize that there is truth to this analysis of our current society and
that the system as it is needs to change because I certainly do not wish to be
a part of it.
It is
this notion that provides me with hope and perhaps direction for the future. As
I see it, the world can change and it can change for the better. As an
environmentalist, one of the things that I have asked myself before is ‘what is
the point?” A simple question that I think more people should confront
themselves with more often because it reveals the truth in our own actions. The
point, as I see it, is to create a world in which the condition and experience
of our lives are improved overall and that the lives of our posterity will also
be better off. To plant a tree that will fruit after our existence is the
noblest cause one can do in this world.
So now
we are at a point where we can choose to either continue supporting the current
society machine as functioning cogs that serve to the purpose of power, greed
and money; or we can choose to make changes that will not only improve our own
lives, but those of the future. This notion of “real life” does not have to
incorporate the mundane task of supporting corporations or antiquated dogmas.
Instead it is an opportunity to go forth and actually make a difference. A
momentous and iconic change will not happen overnight, but instead through
small acts of defiance against the mainstream society that ultimately work
together to overthrow the accepted norms of life. Reject the image of wealth as
being that of money, greed and power and instead occupy your life with that
which you love and that which not only brightens your own life, but that of
others as well. Be the change you want to see and lead by example, criticizing
your own actions before you criticize those of others. I have a feeling that
within the near future and perhaps with this generation, there will be change
for the better. Humans are capable of producing either that which is most
destructive or that which is most beautiful. Our hands and our minds craft the
very world that we live in... and I believe that we owe it to ourselves to
begin constructing a world that truly serves to satisfy our happiness and our
needs instead of our mislead wants and desires for that which yields no true
satisfaction.
Oh and
how does this tie into cycling? Well, throughout my experiences that I have had
with cycling, I truly find it to be something that I am in love with. I have
decided that my contribution to a new and changed society is to share this love
which I have found because for those willing, I believe that there is love for
them to be found with cycling as well. I truly do believe that the bicycle can
and will change the world; we must first accept it within our own lives in
order for it to do so. I want to return for a moment to the metaphor I first
used to describe current society; functioning components of an automobile.
Perhaps I would like to see our future society more representative of a machine
such as a bicycle because a bicycle, while still a machine, relies upon one
component in order for it to function as so; you, the rider, who controls the
very experience that they wish to encounter, what views to take in and at a
personal level, how happy they wish to be with the effort and the contribution
they put forth to move forward. That is the type of society that I wish to see
and I hopefully will not stand alone in my actions to see it come to fruition
so that the concept of “the real world” will not be one of terror and demise,
but one of opportunity.
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