I would like to sketch out here a few ideas which I will be discussing in future entries. I have been studying Rousseau as of late and have been inspired with some of the insights he describes in the Discourse on Inequality. I would like to relate Rousseau to another critique of modern living.
In future entries I will attempt to elaborate on the criticism that modern living forces many of us to become overly future oriented and to neglect experiences of the present moment. We live in a highly meritocratic society where we are encouraged to give the majority of our time to achieve future goals. From our infancy to teen years we are examined and tested regularly. The incentive for doing well is to have a better choice of schooling to then be examined further. We achieve the grades to then enter a university to attain a degree to get a good job. Then with that job we want career progression and must achieve certain goals to reach the next stage.
Our minds constantly engaged in the future we strive to attain happiness through the achievement of an end goal. The problem with this is that we forget to appreciate and live life in each moment. I do not think the achievement of goals could ever give us a lasting sense of happiness. I think a greater emphasis needs to be placed on finding contentment in the process of doing something as opposed to striving to find happiness in the achievement of any particular goal.
I am not saying we should not think about the future or plan ahead. What I am saying is that we should not forget to live in the moment and take time to appreciate the now. In becoming absorbed with the future we forget to live. Days, months and maybe years may pass until we realise that in the time of achieving that goal (say a degree) that we have forgotten to actually live.
I hope to formulate these thoughts far more concisely and with much more clarity in a future entry. I would also then love to give a Rousseau-lian input to this topic.
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