Dr. Vernon Coleman
We live in strange, difficult and confusing times. In some ways, largely material, we are richer than any of our ancestors. In other ways, largely spiritual, we are infinitely poorer.
Most of us live in well-equipped homes that our great-grandparents would marvel at. We have access to (relatively) clean drinking water at the turn of a tap. We can obtain light to work by and heat to cook by at the flick of a switch. Our homes are stuffed with possessions. We have automatic ovens, washing machines, tumble driers, dish washers, food blenders, vacuum cleaners, television sets, DVD players, computers, mobile telephones and a whole host of other devices designed either to make our working hours easier or our leisure hours more enjoyable. If we want to travel anywhere, we can climb into our own motor cars or we can use public buses, trains or aeroplanes. We have become so dependent upon these “things” that when they break down, we become aggressive and irritable. We can’t cope without them.
Most of us live in well-equipped homes that our great-grandparents would marvel at. We have access to (relatively) clean drinking water at the turn of a tap. We can obtain light to work by and heat to cook by at the flick of a switch. Our homes are stuffed with possessions. We have automatic ovens, washing machines, tumble driers, dish washers, food blenders, vacuum cleaners, television sets, DVD players, computers, mobile telephones and a whole host of other devices designed either to make our working hours easier or our leisure hours more enjoyable. If we want to travel anywhere, we can climb into our own motor cars or we can use public buses, trains or aeroplanes. We have become so dependent upon these “things” that when they break down, we become aggressive and irritable. We can’t cope without them.
We are surrounded by the gaudy signs of our wealth and the physical consequences of human ambition and endeavour, but loneliness, unhappiness, anxiety and depression are now commoner than ever before in our history. There has never before been so much sadness, dissatisfaction and frustration as there is today. The demand for tranquillisers and sleeping tablets has risen steadily throughout the last few decades as our national and individual wealth has multiplied.
We have access to sophisticated communication systems and yet never before have we been so aware of our ignorance. We have more power over our environment than our ancestors ever dreamt of having and yet we are regularly reminded of our helplessness and our vulnerability. We are materially wealthy and yet spiritually deprived. We have conquered our planet and begun to conquer space, and yet we are continually reminded of our woeful inability to live at peace with one another.
We have access to sophisticated communication systems and yet never before have we been so aware of our ignorance. We have more power over our environment than our ancestors ever dreamt of having and yet we are regularly reminded of our helplessness and our vulnerability. We are materially wealthy and yet spiritually deprived. We have conquered our planet and begun to conquer space, and yet we are continually reminded of our woeful inability to live at peace with one another.
As the human race becomes materially richer and more powerful, so we as individuals seem to become spiritually poorer and more frightened. The more we acquire, the more we seem to need, and the more we learn, the more we seem condemned by our ignorance. The more control we have over our environment, the more damage we seem to do to ourselves. The more successful we become in financial terms, the more we seem to destroy the qualities and virtues which lead to happiness and contentment. The more we learn about our world, the more we seem to forget about our duties and responsibilities to one another.
As manufacturers and advertisers have deliberately translated our wants into needs so we have exchanged generosity and caring for greed and self-concern. Politicians and teachers, scientists and parents have encouraged each succeeding generation to convert simple dreams and aspirations into fiery, no-holds-barred ambitions. In the name of progress, we have sacrificed common sense, goodwill and thoughtfulness and the gentle, the weak and the warm-hearted have been trampled upon by hordes of embittered, miserable people who have been taught only to think of the future and never to think of the present or the past. Our society is a sad one; the cornerstones of the world are selfishness, greed, anger and hatred. Those are the driving forces we are taught to respect.
During the last fifty years or so, we have changed our world almost beyond recognition. Advertising agencies, television producers and newspaper editors have given us new aims to strive for, new hopes, new ambitions and new aspirations. At the same time, they have also given us new fears and new anxieties. With the aid of psychologists, clever advertising copywriters have learned to exploit our weaknesses and our natural apprehensions to help create demands for new and increasingly expensive products. Our world has changed dramatically. Values and virtues have been turned upside down and inside out. Tradition, dignity and craftsmanship have been pushed aside in the search for ever greater productivity and profitability.
It is hardly surprising that all these changes have produced new stresses and strains of their own. The pressure to succeed joins with the pressure to confirm and the pressure to acquire and as a result, we live in a world where the base levels of stress are fixed at dangerously high levels.
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