Temporary permanence

Like anyone, I have wondered, studied and explored why the world is the way it is, specifically why people are the way they are.  It's one of those topics that is just too big.  Even so, I have an idea on why people are the way they are.

Value.

It is a matter of what we value.  Shelter, food, clothing.  We value these things as necessities.  We also have less tangible values such as wealth, social standing and fame.  All of this has been discussed before and I am sure you all have read very similar statements.  What is different about my idea then?

When was the last time you valued a Monday?  How about a cow?  What about that banana you had for a snack?  How about the person walking next to you in the cross walk?  Right now you might be wondering why I am asking about such mundane things and the fact that they appear mundane is the exact reason I am bringing them up.  Monday will come like it has since the creation of the calendar and because of its incessant nature, it has become noise in the background of our lives; something to make jokes about or to bemoan.  But if you think about it, that Monday had never been before and will never be again.  Everything that happened during that Monday will never happen again.  You will not see that Monday again, ever. That Monday is entirely and completely unique.  However, due to the repetition, it has been devalued.  Just another day.

Much can be said for the cow, the banana or the random person.  We no longer value these things because they appear ubiquitous, eternal, everywhere.  We see a cow and think it is the same cow even though it had never been and soon will never be again.  Same as the banana and sadly same as the person in the cross walk.

We believe in the permanence of temporary things and concepts.  We think that it will always be there.  We believe the world is immutable.  The only immutable concept is entropy which I suppose is ironic as that is what has happened to our ability value anything.  Entropy is the way of value in the eyes of humans.

Perhaps we have lost our ability to value the mundane.  Perhaps we never had it and still need to learn.  Perhaps we never questioned it because we believe we are immortal and it is only later in life that we realize we have missed the chance to appreciate.  Whatever the reason, people need to value other people, not because they are family, or a person that employees them, but because that person has never been and soon, never shall be.  Let us help make their existence a good one.