You are lost

Note:  This is a continuation of Value, but it started changing direction, so I thought I’d make it separate.

And so what determines if living in such a fashion has any greater value than continuing on an arid existence?  Unlike material goods whose value is based on blood and suffering, the value we assign to life is more incorporeal, and the basis for comparison immeasurable.  A life less ordinary may encounter great things of a spiritual nature that a common life lost to a material existence may never desire to attain, or even recognize to exist.

But cannot a life driven by material things lead to some grand source of inspiration too?  Kingdoms and nations rise out of the aspirations of conquest.

So where does the greater value lie, purpose?  Do we seek enlightenment or material goods to share and improve the circumstances of life for “the greater good” or do week seek to hoard and capitalize on the imbalance created from having what others do not?  But who is to say which is right?

So what do we see as our personal value of time, and what are we willing to trade it for?  If all life is suffering, what is the fruit of our strife?  Do we labor under the illusion that we can ever truly attain something physically tangible when we ourselves are incorporeal beings?

Each moment is precious and unique to an extent, and beauty is in part a product of scarcity.  So the more rare the event the more value we give it. But by influencing the probabilities we create a sameness in the happenings of our daily lives that can lead to a mundane existence and a sense of banality.  The workplace is the most obvious example, and generally where most of us experience this disconnect from grandeur.


The happenings of Day A, if too similar to Day B, lose significance even though each has it’s own unique set of values and circumstances.  More so if Days C-Z follow suit.

But doesn’t this also allow a basis for comparison to determine what is indeed a rare moment?  And from that to measure from greatness what is truly fantastic?  But it also implies that some moments are less rare, and by our definition, less beautiful.  We live in a world where the beauty of the unique is seen as abnormality, chance as insecurity, and seeking enlightenment as terrorism.  By organizing chaos do we not seek banality?

But value is not strictly determined by scarcity.  Why notice any particular moment, why hold it in memory?  We assign meaning to our experiences both common and great, whose value is based on perception.  If we see a moment as rare or meaningful the more we treasure it.  If we feel it to be common or trivial we disregard it.  So the issue at hand is what unseen forces influence our perception to say that one moment has more value another?  Is it all based on personal experience or do we allow cultural experience a greater say?  By raising our expectations of what each moment could hold, have we allowed our society to numb our senses to the subtleties of life?

What enlightenment could we achieve from perceiving every moment as rich in meaning?  And do we not risk imposing a greater meaning than there might be?  It is important to allow that which is mundane to remain insignificant; to allow value to remain uninfluenced and to appreciate what is for what it is.  To simply be and appreciate, and allow the experiences that unfold to enrich us as they will.

This is not to say we cannot create moments of rarity to enhance our experience.  But creating an atmosphere where enlightenment may be achieved is different from trying to discern meaning from the meaningless.  Should we all not seek to influence our own existence in such fashion?  To impose our own will upon our existence rather than allowing the influences prescribed to us by aforementioned social factors?  To create an alternative path to monotony?