54.  I think, therefore I am

The great philosopher Descartes said, “I think, therefore I am”. Thinking is what differentiates man from beast. How many of us really think?

We think about our jobs, housing problems, our kids, Income Tax returns, and even sometimes about the lady who has recently shifted to our neighborhood. 

This does not contribute to the thinking process that justifies our existence. In fact, this ‘aboutism’ itself is quite disgusting. 

Thinking is good, and the history of mankind has made it easier.

Mark Twain answers this question clearly: “Adam was the only man who, when he said a good thing, knew that nobody had said it before him.”

Everything in the world has become politicized, and politics is often driven by money and power. The same goes for journalism and publishing. Currently, newspaper journalism serves no purpose other than to act as a dumping ground for statements made by leaders. It creates myths, which used to be the role of religion.

What should be the goal, then? Think about your life and don’t bother about what you read in newspapers or on television. They will only make you a follower.

Lin Yutang said, “Imagine a world in which there are no stories of murder in newspapers, everyone is so omniscient that no house ever catches fire, no airplane ever has an accident, no husband deserts his wife, no pastor elopes with a choir girl, no king abdicates his throne for love, no man changes his mind, and everyone proceeds to carry out with logical precision a career that he mapped out for himself at the age of ten – good-bye to this human world! All the excitement and uncertainty of life would be gone. There would be no literature because there would be no sin, no misbehavior, no human weakness, no upsetting passion, no prejudices, no irregularities, and, worst of all, no surprises.”

I say, don’t listen to him.

Having just one life spanning a relatively short time, at most 100 years, why should we listen to him?

(Top photo courtesy leidenpsychologyblog.nl with thanks)