We Are Stewards Of The World

Another social commentary discussing the idea of happiness being linked to kindness and discusses our legacy.

I heard the phrase today; we are the stewards of this world. Before you’re 21 you’re learning how to become a steward of the world. You’re learning the skills to exist in the world. Then you’re released. You become a steward. You may have to tackle a few streakers or turn away some for not having a ticket but you’re living the dream, right?.. Wrong. You find most of the ‘skills’ you’ve been taught won’t help you with the problems you really want to solve. You want to be happy and be a mature father/ mother. You want to fulfil all of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the want to reach “self-actualisation”. Too many people end up dying without realising their goals in life and die bitter. Well, society wants you to feel that buying something will make you happier or more attractive because that’s what keeps consumerism rolling. Course these things make our life easier but not necessarily happier. There’s that common misnomer, which is slowly disappearing, that money or fame makes you happy. However, we’re consistently seeing famous people killing themselves, due to depression, when they seemingly have it all, John Belushi and Heath Ledger for example. Having material goods and celebrity status doesn’t make you happy. Even extraordinary achievement doesn’t make you happy. The journey makes you happy because it gives you purpose but what then? Most feel depressed after something extraordinary because they suffer from the ‘what now?’ complex. The ‘What am I going to do with my life now’ thought. Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon, succeeded in one of humanities greatest ever achievements. After returning from the moon he became an alcoholic and became depressed, read his biography. Something I believe everyone who reads this commentary would want to have said at their funeral is that ‘the world was a better place having had them in it.’ I have been to a few funerals and only one funeral had the deceased been referred to as a great loss to the world. No disrespect to the others, but this person was unique. Not only were close family and friends their but the entire community was there. This person was known for being obscenely kind, going out of her way to help others without asking for anything in return.

One of the happiest people on the planet has and most likely still is Muhammad Ali, the boxer. Yes, he is the greatest boxer of all time but, again read his biography, he gave and gave and gave. He would just give to everyone, it almost became a problem, but he was happy. He would do charitable actions because it meant something to the other person and he wanted them to get that; not for any other reason than to be kind. Now, are people going to say the world will miss him, hell yes they are. Although Ali is the extreme, some of his entourage would take advantage of his generosity, he was/ still is happy. I say be cautious of those who try to take advantage, they take to make themselves feel good but they only feed pain. Keep in mind that true altruism is blind. If you are kind then brag about your kind act you may of done something kind but there are ulterior motives involved which will not help you. Everything you own and have done in this life stays here when you stop being a steward of the world (when you die). How are you going to use your time to leave the world in a better place?

People are immortalised through the lasting impression they leave. 

Author's Note

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