We can’t have everything

And we shouldn’t have them even if we could.

Recently, I watched one of Jordan Peterson’s uploads on Youtube entitled Who Dares Say I believe in God? And it was so riveting to say the least, despite the fact that I know in my heart of hearts that I will never ever agree with this beautiful man a hundred percent.

One of the points he highlighted was a piece of his commentary on a recent debate to which a candidate said “I’m a Christian AND a Marxist.”

Now, Jordan said, these are two different concepts which cannot even be compared. I understood it in a way as him saying it’s not possible to compare these ideas because they do not rest on a parallel plane. He went on to say you could hold this statement true in either of two ways: you pick out the positives from each teaching, or (and I snicker over his sarcasm in this) you don’t really know what these teachings mean.

In highlighting the concept of Marxism, which I presume from the way he talked that he didn’t adhere to, the esteemed gentleman says that one thing about the Marxist theory he does not agree to is the notion that ‘when people are given what they want, then society will be happy’ — or something like that. I am undoubtedly and shamelessly paraphrasing.

I thought about that the whole time I gazed at him as he was rambling on.

Indeed, people are needlessly and tirelessly ever interlaced with their discontentment. This discontentment pours out to everything in our lives, from the way the sun is too bright to how French fries are supposed to be cut and fried (or baked, if you’re me).

Ask the wealthiest of the wealthy, and I will bet my whole lifesavings and every peso or penny after that, that they will tell you, if they were any truthful at all, that having it all never brought them the euphoria that they wanted. Sure, they might have or might be feeling some form of glee, but it will never ever be the same sensation as that which we envision it to be.

I think Jim Carrey said something similar before which drew both admiration and criticism, in that he ‘wished people got everything that they want so they’d realise that it doesn’t answer to anything’.

Having what we think we need and/or want in life is never the end-all or be-all of our existence. We were never meant to be satisfied by what materialism can provide us, otherwise, wouldn’t you think that the human mind and its very existence would be deemed too simplistic and benign? We have instincts, but that doesn’t mean that going with them will satisfy our hunger and our lust for what we hope for in life. We have both complementary and conflicting desires, but that doesn’t give us the license to pursue all of them or some of them in order to self-actualise (at least in our imagination, that is).

I think that as far back as I remember, I could never point out a time that my flow was dependent on something so tangible and materially-driven. I often found my joy and my bliss resting on a quiet Sunday morning throwing quips around with my big brother and my parents. I found utter contentment, even for a brief moment in the eyes of a child at church whom I managed to lull to sleep with my awkward rhythm in dancing to a random lullaby. I found the greatest boost of endorphins and adrenaline resolving a fight with my lover and deepening our ever growing connection thereafter. But never had I ever found the joy or purpose we all so desperately crave for in the arms of perfumes, luxury bags, high heels or expensive dinners.

I would imagine the never-ending question, if we were to put it to the test, as: Now WHAT? So you got that million dollar cheque — now what? So you have your lamb — now what? So you earned more than ten times an ordinary worker’s keep — now what?

See, having everything was never how we were destined or were created for. Whether we adhere to the creationism or the evolution theory, handing our lives over to God or to cellular evolution, purpose was never meant to be found at the end of the pot of the proverbial gold. We can have everything and anything. But it will never mean anything unless we already know who we are, what we want, what we were meant to be, the matter on which we should properly be appreciated, and so on.