I Am Amused By Human Behavior
We are such insecure, neurotic beings. Unlike every other species on the planet, we are cursed with self-awareness. The animal kingdom doesn't bother with pretensions, aspirations, or self-actualization. A lion doesn't worry about whether his boss will pass him up for that promotion, or if he's saving enough money for retirement. His main worries are about eating, sleeping, and procreating.
We cling to our illusions of control and progress. We fight for status, and fall into contests of one-upmanship. We want to be important and special. We want our words, opinions, and feelings to matter. We want to feel like we know better, and we have all the "right" answers. We want, we want, we want.
But what do we really need? Probably not as much as we think we do.
And all of our attempts to chase after what we think we need make me giggle. I make myself giggle a lot.
I'm not much of a Bible-thumper, but if I had to pick a favorite book, it would probably be Ecclesiastes:
"Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”
What do people gain from all their labors
at which they toil under the sun?
Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.
The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.
The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.
All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there anything of which one can say,
“Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.
No one remembers the former generations,
and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow them."
I think I'll go bake some muffins.
