Be the Thinking Man

We deceive ourselves into thinking that we will be happy if we get what we want but that may not be the truth in life.

by Thong Ming Sen

On a superficial level, wisdom might seem merely a fancy word for common sense. However, rising statistics on suicide cases and people facing mental challenges do not support this notion. 

The reason us probably because the minds of people facing problems are like the eyes of a warrior clouded by dust in the battlefield. 

The remedy is not to equate success with money. Henry Fielding once said: "Make money your God and it will plague you like the devil."

We can see with our own eyes how people around us are falling into this trap. No doubt, the world is more materialistic that it ever was before.

Moral values are going down the drain together with dignity and integrity. In a way, this is caused by the attitude of the people themselves who nowadays seem to judge a person not by the character but external things and people look highly upon us.

The trick here is to use the way of the world in our favour by making money our motivation but not the ultimate aim.

After you have set non-monetary goals for yourself, set codes of values that you will follow strictly. 

Discipline is the key here. Remind yourself that your success will be a hollow one if you diverge from your codes. 

The pirmary devil one should be mindful of is greed, which all philosophers agree is the basic instinct of human beings, perhaps due to ancient days when food was scarce.

In today's world, greed rears its ugly head in the form of insatiable thirst for materialistic wealth. 

We deceive ourselves into thinking that we will be content if we get what we want only to find out that the happiness is only temporary and before long, we are craving for more and better items, just as how drug abusers crave for more drugs.

If the remedy for drug abuse is rehabilitation programmes, then the remedy for greed is looking for non-materialistic joy.

It will be just as tough as drug rehabilitation and joy attained will be immense and transcend those of materialistic wealth.

Other factors of unhappiness are jealousy and envy. It is human nature to compare ourselves with others, especially our peers. Sometimes, family members do this. Inevitably, this will lead to anger, hatred and resentment in those who are worse off.

Regardless of whether it is self comparison or comparison by others, it is important to look at it as a vehicle for improvement. 

With intellect, one can note one's weaknesses and through discussion with others, learn. Being envious only makes one feel inferior.

And if criticisms are fired at you, remember that no one kicks a dead dog. The fact that you are being criticised shows that you are "worthy" of it. 

Furthermore, life's a marathon, not a race.

As for those who think they are better off, I suggest that they don't get ahead of themselves and be too proud. The good thing about life is that if you are good, there's always someone better than you, and if you are bad, there are always others who are worse.

Lastly, always live in the present. The sands of time are such that the past, present and future are only separated by a blink of an eye.

It traps those who regret about the past and worry about the future. Realise the very simple fact that history is non-changeable and that what will be, will be.

The resent only exists for a blink of the eye, so use it to the fullest. At the same time, life will be a lot easier in the present if only we can accept that, in this imperfect world of ours, nothing is perfect.

It's natural to have expectations, but keep them realistic. We tend to only dreamily imagine the good things, which rarely turn out so. Look at the other side and imagine also how things can go horribly wrong.

This will mentally prepare you for any eventualities between  the two extremes. It's natural to feel happy when one is associated with what one likes but sad when one is associated with what one dislikes.

By being mindful of any eventualities, one can avoid mental illness which is, sadly, so prevalent nowadays.

In a nutshell, the golden rule is to be like the Thinking Man and unravel the truth of the mysterious "common sense", and truly and sincerely accept it; then and only then will common sense become wisdom.

Cropped from The Sun (October 3, 2011)