Of Buddhists and Big Macs

Watching this feature on CBC last night about how Tibetan Buddists aare generally happier, calmer, and less stressed than most people in the Western World got me on to my traditional rant, which I will share with you. It is this: we in Western society do not lead meaningful lives. We have more than everything we need, and we’re just not happy.

Basically my argument is that we’ve completed 1 to 4 in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, but instead of pursuing self-actualization, we’ve embraced consumerism. It’s all we have left, if you believe the media. The Western world has long focused it’s attention on material gain, but for much of it, we had religion, which at least gave us some sense of our place in the world. In recent times, many of us have shrugged off the confines of religious belief, and this has left something of a gaping whole in our understanding of ourselves, out priorities, and the world around us.

Now, we’ve become obsessed with the acquisition of material goods as a way of filling that void. It’s become ridiculous. We work outrageously stressful jobs so that we can make money so that we can acquire more “things” that we are told will make us happy. Of course, they don’t. So, we work even harder so we can buy better “things” only to find that those don’t really make us happier either. We consume and consume and are completely defined by our work. What’s one of the first things you ask someone when you meet them? “So, what do you do?” I mean, it’s even one of the main profile questions in Blogger, for Christ sake! Go to other parts of the world where people aren’t as stressed, and no one asks you “what do you do?” It’s immaterial.

Now, everyone’s on Prozac or Ritalin or Valium to control depression, anxiousness, malaise, etc. You just don’t see a lot of Buddhist monks on Prozac. Why? Because they know what’s important. And having the latest PDA, Audi, or trip to Mexico just isn’t it. I’m not saying we should all quit our jobs or go back to believing in a God that, quite frankly is as plausible as Santa Claus. I’m saying the Buddhists have it right. We need to become more introspective, more aware of the “real” world around us, more self-aware, more kind, more tolerant of others, and most importantly, more willing to create meaningful contact with other human beings.

How often have you walked down the street and avoided making eye contact with someone walking 2 feet away from you? How weird is that? It’s part of our whole culture of isolating ourselves and our stuff from each other. We interact at superficial levels now – customer service calls, PTA meetings, speed dating, mass seminars. Real human interaction has come to a standstill. Ironically, through the anonymity of the Internet, many of us (myself included) are reaching out and making “real” contact with complete strangers while foregoing the intimacy of actual human contact. These are strange times we’re living in. Pass me the Prozac.