Living for another

Here’s one that I cannot seem to be able to emphasize well enough. It has to do with a lot of us that harbour all our hopes and futures on either someone else or something. It’s as though we were created merely to add value to someone else’s life.

Granted, the Bible talks about a wife’s submission to her husband quite clearly. But honestly, I cannot for the life of me agree with that. And the only leeway of explaining it away would be perhaps be in the social context of that time period. See, while the Bible may be infallible in terms of theology, I believe there are certain elements, especially in regard to social conditions and implications that do play into what is written and should also be accorded some slack.

I guess what I’m basically driving at is that I believe in the independence of the individual as a person. In this sense, men and women are both created equal and therefore to have anyone living his or her life for another is almost sacrilege.

Unless one can find true happiness with his or her own life, it is totally foolish to think that we can find that happiness in the form of another human being. Unless we can find peace within ourselves, we cannot and will not find real peace in another person whom we harbour all our hopes, dreams and aspirations. Humans are humans after all, not God. Yes, we all screw up and it is unfair to assume that another can replace God, regardless.

Women, just like men have fought in wars, strove through hardships and gone through periods of having to bear responsibility as “heads of households” and to have that birthright as individuals disregarded is not only sexist in nature, but it also devalues each person as humans. Yes, we own animals. We own things, possessions and properties, but we do not own another human being. That’s nothing more than slavery, well at least the last time I checked.

Like it or not, unless we start respecting each individual as a person and not a possession, then we can perhaps begin to inch onward in the sphere of the development of humanity as was meant to be.

So if you’re someone who lives for another, who has all your hopes, dreams and meaning in life placed onto another, perhaps it is time to dig deeper to find the real core of happiness, fulfillment and meaning in no one else but yourself. Because unless you’re able to do that, you will never have real happiness, real fulfillment or real meaning.

And no, it is not nobler to place your life in the hands of another, it’s just irresponsible, both towards yourself and the other.