I just do not understand people, or maybe even myself. One thing I learned in the past few months is that no one can be genuinely happy or satisfied with anything in life. People always want more, more, more. And this “condition,” as I’ll call it, can range from being very minor to very severe. It fascinates me to look around and see different examples of this.
Say you apply to something (it doesn’t matter what it is) and don’t get in. Chances are, you’d be very upset. OK, so it’s not the end of the world considering there are people who have no family, people on the streets, people starving, people dying of disease, etc – and many of us should be grateful we are not affected by those misfortunes. But you’d still be upset. Or perhaps you did get in, an noticed a group of others who did not. Maybe you would ask yourself, “I wonder what makes me better than they are?” Say you do get in, and now that you’re in, the next step didn’t go as expected, and you’re miserable. This translates to you initially getting your way and being happy for a little while, but still being upset in the end. Yet if you didn’t get your way to begin with (not getting in), you’d still be upset. “I don’t know” – people say this all the time. And every time someone says that around me, I’ll always respond with “What don’t you know?” Yes, it sounds silly, but there has to be a cause of some uncertainty.
Everyone is different. I look at some people and I think to myself “Damn, they have it rough, I feel bad for them,” yet they are completely fine with the way life is treating them. Or, I look at other people and say “They have it all, why can’t I be more like that” but they feel as if something is missing and are still out there looking for more. Then I think back to myself: “At this point if I figure out my missing piece and fill that void, I would be completely happy.” Or would I? At this instant, it would seem like I would be ecstatic, but would there be more complications that could lead to further dissatisfaction? Does this ever stop? If these expectations keep increasing and no one becomes content, what next? I’m sure there are many people who would be completely happy to be in my current position. So do I just stop trying to overachieve?
The SAW series of movies are brilliant. The simple minded do not see past the blood, gore and violence, but there is a brilliant message in each of those movies. Jigsaw didn’t set people up to kill them or torture them, but rather help them realize their weaknesses and issues, and try to make them become grateful for what they have. Maybe people in real life need some kind of awakening to make them open their eyes a little more.
