NEWS

WIRES

OTHER

And the Answer is? "So I can keep someone else from taking my place!"

Philosophical Musings By Chic Hollis

Of course you know the questions being asked, "Why am I here?" and "What is my purpose in life?" If you agree with my simple answer after honestly evaluating your own personal situation, you don't have to read any further. Have a good day!

"Wait a minute," you object. "That answer is too simple. There must be more than those ten words to explain why I was born. I am important. I have a mission assigned to me by my Higher Power or my Maker. Don't give me a sound bite to gloss over the event of my auspicious arrival to this incomprehensible world and my under-appreciated performance in it to date!"

I realize that the answer is terribly shocking to someone who hasn't spent much time thinking about those questions or hasn't lived a full life up until his or her retirement as I have. But thank your Maker that you have acquired this profound wisdom. It will help you relax and enjoy the rest of your human experience among others who are desperately striving to keep their places in the hectic scheme of things.

Shall I go on? I don't want to bore you, because only you can objectively examine your personal life and discover the truth in the answer I've found. Are you a professional athlete, musician, actor, accountant, clerk, store keeper, cook, gardener, or just a humble "blue collar" wage earner? Or are you one of those mentioned in the rhyme that the girls used to say when they skipped rope?

"Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief,
Doctor, lawyer, merchant, chief."

All of us have to do something in our lives to earn our keep. In the beginning it was hunting and gathering. (If I had been born in prehistoric times I would have died young because I am so near-sighted that I couldn't have found enough to eat or shot the most unsuspecting animal with my bow and arrow.) And why do we still work, as we now call "earning a living?" Or "march off to war" as I did?

Because we don't want anyone else to take "our" place - we must fill this unique position in time and space that we have spent all our lives striving to reach. This tri-dimensional locus that our consciousness has relentlessly struggled to attain. We have arrived at last, so we must defend our location in life and justify our devious course with all kinds of excuses, lies, and detailed reasons unimportant to anyone else but ourselves.

Such is the constant struggle to hang on to our little niche in life. Each human must do enough to hold the interest of his spouse, to satisfy his boss, and to keep the wolves from the door. What is "enough" depends on your ambitions, your desires, your greed, and your covetousness. Do you want a new and "better" job? A younger and prettier wife? A fancier car or a larger house? A drug that your body requires or your mind prefers? A face-lift, a breast enhancement, a hair transplant? Whatever it is, remember, it depends solely on you and your chosen lifestyle.

"I just want to hang out and do my thing," you counter. But all those other people out there are in your way, trying hard to ease you out, take your job, replace your dreams with theirs, and dominate you. It's still a jungle out there despite the politically correct conversation, the advertising hype and pleasantries, and the preaching from the pulpit. You must ignore the misinformation, the exaggeration, and dishonest hyperbole. You must find a way to keep moving ahead on this path you have chosen to nowhere in particular. Each of us is leaning into the wind toward an immediate tomorrow, an uncertain future, and a certain demise later on that we prefer not thinking about seriously.

We can consider ourselves filling space in a vacuum that no one else can fill. Yet, in our hearts we know that there are many people who need a job, a help-mate, a place to call their own. We can't refuse to acknowledge that Nature abhors a vacuum and will fill our absence promptly, if less efficiently in our judgment.

How? You can never guess. Where does the oxygen for your next breath come from? The water for your next thirst-quenching drink? The energy for the next movement of your hand? The idea for your next comment? We don't really know or care about that until what we think we need is not available. And when the things that we need aren't available, our light eventually flickers out.

"Good night, everyone," isn't our ultimate response until our last ounce of energy is expended, our money, credit, and insurance runs out, and the medical profession can't do anything further for us. Until then we continue trying to compete in this world to maintain our noble place. And hopefully improve upon it if we so desire and long to do so.

Those old fogies who wear the outdated polyester clothing and drive around slowly in those old cars have ceased struggling to catch the attention of the style conscious "modern generation," who are quite aware of today's fashions. The older generation doesn't have sufficient motivation to become "hip." They just want to stay alive a little while longer, doing what they have been doing - unhappy perhaps, but mostly resigned to their circumstances.

Society allows them this last privilege, at least for now. Tomorrow the younger generation is going to have to work more years before they qualify for Social Security and Medicare. But the time may come when the retirement option isn't available at all. When there are so many mouths to feed on this planet that only the productive are given food and shelter. The rest will have to buy those things at outrageous prices or beg for hospice-type care.

Competition is the key, economists say, for developing a healthy business climate, a successful company, and a prosperous country. And what is that based on? A "serve me first" orientation of the customer. Then we are required to satisfy our customers' needs with a quality product or service better than the one offered by the competition. And at a reasonable price.

All the criteria for better, cheaper, and longer-lasting are introduced into the minds of the customer with motivational, manipulative, and humorous advertising. Consequently, we have to learn quickly how to compete successfully and how to stay ahead of the others who are pressing us for our coveted "spots" in line.

Eventually, however, we are forced to give up our spots in line, and some of us end up on the street. Then, if the safety nets of our family, community, church, and government agencies all fail, we understand clearly why we are here. No one will be competing with us for those grimy places filled by the socially rejected.

If we still have our sanity when we hit the street, we will learn about the "dire" consequences of letting someone else take our place. In order to avoid ending up homeless, hungry, and wandering the streets, we must do "whatever it takes" to keep others from elbowing us out of our rightful, hard-earned places.

Now, admit it. That's why we are here. And you knew the answer all the time, didn't you?

Chic Hollis
Chic Hollis lived on four continents, speaks seven languages and had five children, all of which helped him gain a unique perspective on life.