Philosophy for Life

The 21st Century: a time of remarkable achievement and unparalleled opportunity, available to people of all backgrounds in the Western world. There are still problems, of course, but undoubtedly, now is the greatest time to be alive. Why, then, doesn’t it feel that way for so many of us?

Neuroticism would seem to be at an all time high in the Western world today. This means that people, even those who lead lives which look good from the outside, are suffering from depression and general negativity. There are those that have no understanding of these traits and tend to think that their fellow man is pretending. They can’t wrap their heads around the idea of depression being so prevalent in a country like Canada, or the United States where things seem to be, for the most part, great. In my view, these tend to be the people who are blessed with a limited level of self awareness, and a high level of conscientiousness. They keep themselves occupied and aren’t likely to question their own motives or desires. For them, depression is less likely to arise. It is, after all, a problem of excessive thinking. Not to say those people are stupid, they simply aren’t "wired" in the same way.

However, there are those of us, who suffer from constant inner turmoil. We are stuck always wondering if our decisions are the right ones, and perhaps, we spend too much time reflecting. Sometimes we stare ourselves down in the mirror for so long, we begin to confuse the reflection with the real thing. I am but one voice in a sea of many millions—billions, even, but my voice is as good as anyone else’s, so I will share with those who would listen, my perspective on the beast that lurks in the shadows.

I had always been a little neurotic, insofar as it is a personality trait of human beings. I’ve felt some insecurity, some depression, and some anxiety as long as I can remember. But my grade 12 year brought in three new factors that escalated everything.

First of all, I took a fairly serious concussion out in the streets of my hometown early in the school year after a short night of binge drinking, and this set off a chain reaction throughout that year. News of my demise had been greatly exaggerated, bringing me small-town fame and the girl I had a crush on for some time. In the aftermath, my personality had changed fairly drastically.

In my altered state, I was incapable of over-thinking. There is debate whether I was capable of thinking at all, really. Without over-thinking though, I had no fears and I held myself with a kind of confidence that could only be the result of a complete, blissful ignorance that it would even be possible for someone to think negatively of me. With my newfound courage, I made new friends, earned a reputation (the goodness of is yet to be determined), and became Valedictorian of my class. Most importantly, I found the courage to approach the girl I’d had my eye on. It helped that I received the near-fatal blow to the head the day before her birthday. But by summer, my life hit a brick wall. My short lived love story came to a close, leaving me with an intense case of heartbreak.

Finally, with some time on my hands, I could consider the events of the previous year. I was severely hurt by the loss of my girlfriend, probably because with her I had my first intimate relationship. Also, it perhaps came with an extra closeness in my mind due to my crushed mental state at the time the relationship was formed. This loss, questions about my identity, and general curiosity, gave me cause to delve into the world of psychedelic drugs. Undoubtedly this altered my personality further. Psychedelics have a unique capability to dissolve the ego. Especially for a boy already dealing with problems of his identity from a brain injury and a heartbreak. So, I was left to pick up the pieces, and try to assemble the puzzle.

This pre-midlife crisis thrust me into the depths of my psyche where I fell into the grasp of depression, and perhaps where I had, as Carl Jung would describe it, "an encounter with the shadow." But I refused to be consumed by the darkness. Here, I think I gave into megalomaniacal delusions of grandeur, as was necessary for myself to climb out on top. And upon reaching the top, and shaking these delusions I have been able to reflect further and identify some things which give rise to neurotic thought, and some techniques which may help combat them. I hope that it can help others like me.

Now, more than ever, the human being is surrounded by distractions. Television, social media, video games, and the endless consumption of trivial information via the internet. We tend not to view these things as a problem on average. As far as we can see, we’re not hurting anyone. What we miss is the self destructive nature of these vices. These distractions work on your mind exactly like drugs. There’s nothing wrong with them in moderation, but they are addicting and thus, hard to moderate. In excess, they suck time out of your short life, and you accomplish nothing (in reality) while cast under their spell. It is the easiest thing you can do, to sit there and feel as though you’re content, but it’s very difficult to realize that you aren’t. True contentment, true happiness in life comes from achievement. There is no better feeling than accomplishing what you know you had to do. Well aside from love, maybe. When you make a routine of sitting in front of the television, or scrolling on your phone, you’re hurting yourself by consistently wasting time that could be utilized to improve yourself and, in turn your life. In short, temporary escape is okay, indeed even necessary to a happy life, but be careful not to let the escape become your life. Know when it has.

Depression may arise from this void we create in our hearts. Where we subconsciously know that life ought to have more meaning. That surely there’s something more than bombarding ourselves with a release of feel good chemicals in the brain from our constant stimulation. I think people must be careful to channel their personality traits in the right way. A creative person may get deeply embedded in a Role-Playing game, for example, as they can create their own story, and trick their subconscious into believing that the progress they make in the video game is real. They would feel more fulfilled if they channeled this creative urge into writing, or painting, or building something in the physical world. We become like what we spend our time doing. If one spends all their time on superficial endeavors, they become a shell of a human being, as hollow as their entertainment. It is doing a disservice to yourself, to your potential.

You see, for all we have accomplished, we must be careful not to hold ourselves with an air of arrogance. We, as a species, like to imagine that we are, without effort, above animals. We’re not. We are animals. Yes, we may fly planes and drive cars; we go to work and we dine in restaurants, but in the end, most of our desires reflect the animal within us. Our most passionate desires, to eat good food, to sleep, to grow strong, to raise children, and indeed, to love, come from our animal nature. And there’s nothing wrong with that. We must accept and truly understand our animal side, if we are ever to live happily.

Being human means being 50 percent elevated consciousness, and 50 percent machine of nature. We must strive to balance these things.

To please our animal nature, we must eat healthy foods, drink plenty of fluids, exercise our bodies, get sufficient (but not more than that) rest, love, and seek pleasure. To please our higher mind is more difficult. Ee must communicate, share our ideas about this thing we call life. We must create beautiful art, music, paintings, and writings. We must be productive members of our society, advance science, and build things that would strike awe into those who see them. But as we know, “With great power comes great responsibility.” As such, we must show compassion, to our fellow man and the other living beings we share the planet with. We must regulate our desires and move through life in a just, moral way. It is our capability to do these things, which separates us from the other animals.

One who pleases only their animal nature, becomes depressed as they subconsciously seek for structure. If you please your animal nature too much, you have forgotten how to moderate. You will likely sit all day in front of the television, receiving instant gratification as you get dopamine from the reward centre of your brain. You’re tricked into believing that the instant gratification is genuine happiness. But it pales in comparison with fulfillment.

On the other hand, one who pleases only their higher mind has a body that atrophies and a mind that suffers. Don’t make the mistake of believing that your mind is in no way connected to your body. If your body suffers, as does your mind. Your instinctual nature will beg for adequate nutrition, and exercise. Physical intimacy with another, sleep, and of course, just plain old stupidfun. Your consciousness is a product of the animal machine. If you don’t tend to the needs of the machine, the system will fail. Many people tend to value only the superficial aspect of eating well and exercising, the physical appeal. But they don’t see the more meaningful reasons to take care of oneself. Think of the human being as a sports car. If you fuel it with low grade fuel, expect sub-optimal performance and more need for maintenance.

To avoid giving into the neurotic tendencies we have, we must learn moderation. I believe that modern society has taught us to value self-indulgence, as it is profitable. It sells more cigarettes, coffee, energy drinks, movies, video games, and miscellaneous subscriptions if you follow your desires endlessly. However, moderating these desires will allow us to be more productive in our lives. Not only this, but you will learn to value your time spent watching t.v. and playing video games more, when it is treated as a reward for work. For many of us, binging on entertainment has practically become a second job. You may feel compelled to "keep up with the Kardashians" rather than enjoy your keeping up with them. In the modern era, we are at least partially raised in front of the television; constantly exposed to advertisements and cheap imitations of humanity. These have faltered our values.

Humour should also be moderated. Not that one should feel bad for having a sense of humour—it’s an important part to a good life. With that said, know that it can also go too far. Many of us will sleep the day away and laugh it off. Humour is a great part to life, but you must strive to balance it with taking life seriously. Although on a metaphysical level, one can look at life as a sort of game, as in the words of Alan Watts: “The existence, the physical universe is basically playful. There is no necessity for it whatsoever. It isn’t going anywhere.” But just because life is meant to be playful, that doesn’t mean you simply laugh everything off. You should strive to experience all emotions. After all, what’s a good story without the difficulties in the main character's way. If you laugh everything off, you will learn to accept a life that could be better, rather than taking steps to improve it.

That’s a good way to look at life actually, like a story, or a game. You might play, or read for the intrinsic value of it, but there’s a kind of method to it. Fiction readers would understand me if I say that a character needs a path. There’s got to be something for him to do. I doubt you’d like to read a story about nothing. Gamers would understand me if I say that you wouldn’t play a shooter, and then just stand there getting shot at. You’ve got to fight back to enjoy the experience. Figure out what your mission is, in life.

Indeed, I think that’s a major factor for depression: being lost. You’ve got your character a name, but no mission; no path. He or she may be surrounded by friends and working a job, but they’re really spending the whole book just twiddling their thumbs. If that’s what you want, that’s okay. For many of us, the simple life is just good. But if you’ve been trying that, and can’t fight the feeling that there’s got to be something more, ponder the possibility that there is. Decide what you, as the character in your story, want from life. What do you value? How will you treat others? What will you do? Make it something worth getting out of bed for.

Being depressed can lead people to live too logically. You want there to be some sort of noble reason for every action, and there’s got to be sense in it. You can start to observe life rather than participate in it from this perspective. You can find yourself watching happy people and thinking that their happiness is stupid. They laugh at things that aren’t funny, or they do things just for the fun of it. Life seems like a pointless game. That’s really just a trick that depression has played on your mind. It’s got you believing up is down. Happiness isn’t stupid, depression is. You can sit and think all day about the pointlessness of this game, but while you go on playing, you’ve got to ask yourself,

"What is the point of play you don’t enjoy?"