Question about Life.. For clever people only please!!?

Question

These days Human Life is treated more importantly than ever. Heavy Health & Safety laws, loads of do`s and don`ts. They tell us
Dont drink
Dont smoke
Dont drive fast or without a seatbelt or use a mobile phone
and dont hold the mobile near your head too long.
Dont eat burgers chips, sugar or too much salt.. The list goes on. Yet......
I feel as though because of this, my life feels totally un-important. It seems based around work, broadband and satalite TV.. Text voting talent shows and buying ringtones.
Now its dangerous to fly away on holiday or go to a Charity Gig at Wembly.
So if I died tomorrow I don`t really think i`d miss that much. Therefore the question is -
Has Humans high status of life made human life less important than ever??

Answer 1

No, sweetheart, money makes the world go round, not people any more. Humans can be replaced with and/or by money. Check it out!

Answer 2

It isn't the status, exactly, but the emphasis in our culture. Our western society is very consumer driven; buy, consume, own, etc. It is a hedonistic lifestyle of which the only reward is the sensory experience and a limited amount of happiness (if at all, as a status quo of living must be maintained, and that upkeep of lifestyle might be mundane to a consumer "veteran", and thus anything at or below the status quo lacks luster and joy).

The lack of emphasis on any investigative, or penetrating, spirituality and philosophy in our culture is largely missing, a lot of youth grow up with little, or poor, spiritual direction, and are basically shown that you can fill that lack of spirituality, and the contentment and meaning that it can bring, with consumerism.

Even the stronger establishments of spirituality, such as Christianity, lack the deeply investigative nature that we need to be thorough (remember, knowledge is what lead to the fall from grace in the Bible, so to want more knowledge about your deep nature is stifled at some point or another; "God works in mysterious ways, don't question it"). Even Joseph Campbell (The Hero's Journey, the monomyth) had something to say here, when he spoke about how in the West, we have identified our God as the guardian at the gate to Truth, or Enlightenment, or whatever, whereas in the East they have identified the divine as the Truth beyond the gate. To the east the gatekeeper was long ago realized to be a reflection of our own ego; fear, attachments, craving, etc., and thus we are keeping ourselves out of the realm of Truth. This problem is one of design, as currently many hold the Bible to be historically true instead of a metaphor, and that is why there is trouble. The Hindus, for example, figured out long ago that their own pantheon were reflections of their own psychological aspects; metaphors for understanding the mind and the human experience.

In short, it isn't a matter of "human high status" but cultural context that has brought us to this state, and just like the hippie movement in the 60s, there will be a cultural backlash by the youth to attempt to correct it. Thanks to the abundance of knowledge on the internet, I believe things will change in a more meaningful way and the seeds are already planted. My 2 cents anyway. ^_^

Answer 3

I think I see where you are coming from, but I would phrase the question as is the importance of preserving life limiting the quality of life? We are fed horror stories and made to feel unsafe getting on a plane, but if we don't get on that plane what wonders of the world are we missing? Is it worth risking getting on a plane with a one in a million chance of something happening in order to be able to explore the world?

I agree about the whole health and safety thing. Recently on holiday I explored the ruins of a castle that was set high up a hill side with sheer drops. Had it been in the UK I wouldn't have been able to see most of it due to safety barriers and the like, but here, I could roam and explore freely. So again, are we weighing up preserving life against living it?

I don't hink I have an answer, but it is an interesting question for discussion. I don't really see how you get texting talent shows into it, unless you mean that once we have cocooned ourselves in our safe little world we have little else to do?

Answer 4

In a way, it has. Because of all the recent added safety precautions, less people are dying, therefore making the world more populated with humans. With more humans around, doesn't it make sense that an individual human would be less important than if there were only, say, 100 of us left?

I don't think I'd miss much if I were to die tommorow, either. I'm kinda tired of watching humans self-destruct and am ready to go 'home'. My only regret would be not getting to watch my children grow up, or be their for their weddings, etc.

Answer 5

Hello,

(ANS) The answer, or should I say the truth in my opinion is, because we also now have a litigious culture here in the UK ( as we always have to follow the same trends & ideas that come from the USA, yawn yawn!!). The number of laws & health and safety regulations, further additional laws that have come from Brussels and the EU. Means that the levels of risk or safety depending upon how you view it, has been reduced to less than double figures. This has a knock on effect on us and how we feel about our lives as a consequence.

**THE PARADOX!!
Whilst all these healthy & safety laws are deigned to protect us and keep us safe, they have taken the danger's & risks out of our lives to such a degree that the result is that many people feel less alive.

Like over protective parents of small children, you cannot protect your children from all risks or dangers. Sooner or later the child will fall over or fall off their bike or whatever?

This paradox would go some way to explaining why? many people want or need to under take adrenaline hit (boosting) experiences such as parachuting, bunngy jumping, base jumping, kite surfing,etc (its a long list).

Simply put we now "feel less alive" because we are exposed to so few risk taking activities. Risk taking activities trigger our basic hormonal reactions to perceived dangers, and in response our bodies fire us up with adrenaline. The adrenaline hit can be quite addictive but perhaps more preferable to feeling numb or over protected? or less alive or less human.

Hope that all makes sense to you!

Regards Ivan

Answer 6

No- this life is as precious and as important as it has ever been. Statistically it is still just as much a miracle!

The people at the top who make these rules live in constant fear, and this fear passes onto others.. however the only way to be really happy and content is to be fearless. Fear is the irrational responce to something bad WHICH HAS NOT HAPPENED (you just think it will)! Everything is okay in modoration, including modoration! haha

In the end all that will really matter is this:

How well did you live?
How well did you love?
How much did you learn to let go?

Remember that there are people who have renounced this material world, the world of doing as others expect of you, or acting how others think you should. It sounds like you are almost borderline on this renounciation.

When you realise to be mindful of everything, then you will rediscover the value of this precious life. =)

Answer 7

No. Human greed and not their status , has made the human life less important.

You talk of mobile phone. What about food addetives? Preservatives? refrigeratpr? Microwave oven? The list can go on.We have , long ago, forgotten to eat fresh food.. Someone thinks of preservatives and adds to the food, without realising the after effects. Cancer increases. Chemicals are replacing food and everything is synthetic.

Wise people from the roof top are shouting and telling us NOT to do all these and yret you and I are going headlong with these dangerous things. What do you expect?

Human life is more important than ever before and they want to live longer to enjot life all the time.

Answer 8

All these rules and regulations are aimed at giving us a longer life, with better health. Think about how people used to die of all kinds of diseases, from accidents etc., when little boys worked down the mines etc. So the quality of our PHYSICAL life is better, no doubt (unless we're into abuse, such as nicotine, overeating, drugs etc). I think a lot of the problems of our impersonal society stem from overpopulation. There are just too many of us around now! We are competing for jobs, living space, a square meter on the beach! What does a farmer do who has hundreds of sheep....he herds them all together, never noticing the individual.. so maybe we're like that herd, just numbers to be herded, kept quiet, safe and fed? So what's to be done? It's up to each and every one of us to assert our individuality, and to respect others' individuality too. Don't be herded, be an active, responsible member of society, be considerate, live your life as you see fit and let others do the same. That's the best we can do for now I reckon.

Answer 9

The ability to think and to solve problems is one of the defining characteristics of human beings. The accumulation of 'stuff' is for squirrels and other animals. A dependence on trivial stimuli as a reason to exist is for primitive life forms.

So, try using your brain to think how best to cope with the stupid and not so stupid laws of man. Try interacting with people instead of with technological toys.

You might think man has a high status - try telling that to a starving peasant or an HIV infected mother or a refugee from any of the small and bloody wars raging across the world.
As someone said, this life is not a rehearsal, so open your mind, look for people to relate to and consider just how lucky you are.

Answer 10

Forget about considering humans as a group, and consider your life alone. How important is that to you?

Each decision or action you take has a risk/reward profile, and an expected payoff. The more information you have regarding the risk and the likely reward, the better your ability to make informed decisions.

I guess the answer is to listen to advice, assess that advice into credible and not credible, and act according to the importance of your life to yourself and the reward you get from taking a risk.

Answer 11

Even the things we're sometimes told to do, turn out to be not bad for us after all, or vice versa (remember when soldiers were given cigarettes in world war one because they were considered to be good for the lungs and to keep bugs at bay!)
I find that reading magazines, watching televisions (especially ads) etc all contribute to a kind of mass thinking. My advice is think for yourself. I don't drink, smoke or drive, I eat well etc etc but I get the importance of my life from creative expression and the inner journey. That really is the way to be happy anyway, its about your own personal journey and finding what's important. Get a career instead of a job, aim to have a family or write a book or travel everywhere in the world, or to live your life helping others or whatever. it doesnt really matter what you're being told every five minutes,this should not really affect how important your life feels, your feelings of importance in life should be based on what you feel your purpose is, what you want to achieve in your own life, and following your own talents and gifts. Dig a little deeper.