Vasilios Theodorakis – An Online Author

As an Orthodox Christian, I am obligated to love – or at the very least like my own species. But the older I get, the more despicable I find people. The only saving grace is the knowing, that all the human leeches I have had the misfortune of encountering, are mortal, and their questionable ways of life will fade away, just as surely as their wrinkling bags of skin and bone will turn to dust. It’s just a matter of time, and for once, I am truly grateful that time is part of this existence.

I did not always feel this way about humanity. I used to think that all people were basically good and that all people had an innate common decency within themselves. What I failed to realise is how much our nature is still based on self preservation and that when push comes to shove, most individuals, and I mean almost all, will prioritise saving their own skin over their fellow human being. It’s just nature (biology – the survival of the fittest) and we’re just animals, in spite of all our selfless philosophies and religions.

What counts is preserving one’s life – an end in itself, or using life to perpetuate one’s own genes. The unfortunate part of this equation is that the majority of humans who survived in the past and who prospered, did so because of their superior self preservation. The selfless amongst us, were and are the minority, and though they may have influenced human thinking and culture along the way – i.e. bringing stability to human groupings, it was the brut selfishness of the majority that has carried the species forward.

I can’t help but marvel at the irony however, i.e. that humanity has become this powerful, not because we’re concerned about our fellow human beings (or because we work well together), but because we’re so good at looking after ourselves. Think about it, if people weren’t so good at looking after themselves, how would our societies function. Societies are dependent on each cog looking after itself, in order for the machine to continue to work as a whole. If cogs stopped prioritising their own self maintenance, the mega mechanism of human society would crumble.

As a result, I can often rationalise to myself why I’ve had the ongoing misfortune of dealing with so many despicable self centred individuals – after all, according to this theory, they are the norm. Thinking otherwise is just a childhood delusion I’ve perpetuated well into my 40’s. And though we can’t prevent the selfish majority pursuing self preservation, the one thing we can do, is refuse to allow them to dump their emotional problems on us.

So I propose the following – for once, the unselfish should refuse to be dumped on, and for once the unselfish should sit back and watch the selfish implode under the weight of their own emotional baggage. Sadly, I know this won’t happen – by definition the unselfish won’t allow those around themselves to suffer. Maybe it’s just the way it has to be – i.e. the selfish majority will always be complimented by the selfless minority. Most people will continue to use other people and/or prioritise their needs above others as they always have – at least, until our species comes to an end. ;)

Cheers – Vasilios Theodorakis – November 2012

It’s a strange thing to realise that out of 45 years of existence, only 5 years have been lived the way one would have chosen to live them.

Take this on board and one could get really depressed – scratch that – I’ve already been catatonically depressed because of this realisation.

The thing is, what do you do about such a situation? Staying depressed only loses more of a much shortened life. Correcting it, when variables are monumentally out of your control, is almost insurmountable, but the alternative is to continue living the life of the walking dead – and I wouldn’t recommend that sort of lifestyle to anyone!

So schedule your time well – lock in routine. Routine, routine, routine! Routine is the answer. Don’t think, just do. Do, until one day you wake up and your life is once again accomplishing something and you’re living the way you want to live, without effort and without thought.

As a close friend once said, set the outcome you want but don’t focus too much on the outcome – that will take care of itself. Instead, stick to your routine – schedule a little work each day towards that outcome and the cumulative results will give you the outcome you want.

There is no secret to success, most able bodied and able minded people, can reach any goal they set, as long as they focus on their daily work and don’t obsess on the goal/outcome. Obsessing on the outcome, is the greatest way to prevent oneself from reaching it.

So let your scheduled iPad alarms ring loud throughout all the working days of your life! :)

Cheers – Vasilios Theodorakis – November 2012