Then Vs Now...

_{James Wheeler}

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I have always talked about how our life has become dependent on technology to the extent that it is impossible to live without it. And as technology keeps evolving every day, we would find ourselves becoming even more and more dependent upon it. This is a future that I am afraid is coming to pass very soon.

Well, this does not apply only to technology. It applies to money as well, living without money these days is more dangerous than living without food. And it is just as dangerous as living without water. Almost as dangerous as living without air. E choke!

But then, I thought about something today. How was life for the people during the old days? I am talking about, maybe 2000 BC or even further back when men still carried swords and clubs around as means of protecting themselves. That time when your sign of being a man was by how many wild animals you killed, or you being a woman was by how many children you bore. A time when people gathered on both sides of a designated field and fought wars.

The thing is that most of the time when we read history stories, we read about the kings and queens, and we read about the philosophers and great warriors. We read about the people who made historical marks during their time, and more often than not, their achievements overshadowed how life was for the average man during their time.

_Pixabay

And so, I tried to think about how life would have been for the average human three thousand years ago. They also had houses, they also had to make a living somehow. They also had a way of taking care of their sick, and a way to entertain themselves. And probably, in their minds, “life couldn’t get any better.”

At such a time, it would have been easy to find contentment. This was because there was not much to aspire to be. Money was not really a thing then, so most of the people were probably farmers and hunters, or artisans of some kind. And if history taught me right, generations tended to follow in the footsteps of their ancestors. The son of a farmer will grow up to be a farmer, and the son of a blacksmith will follow in his father’s footsteps. This was how legacies were made and passed down through generations.

There was nothing much to compare and feel inferior about because everyone was happy with what they had. Emotions like jealousy and envy became an issue among the upper echelons in the seat of power, who had a somewhat deeper life than the ones the regular people faced.

The average people lived somewhat simpler life. Wake up. Eat. Go to work. Get back home. Eat. Sleep. It was a routine that they managed to get comfortable with. As long as they were able to provide for their families and pay their tributes to their king, they were happy.

_{Quang Nguyen}

I’m not saying there were those who were not happy about this lifestyle and who wanted something more. Of course, there were, but they were not as rampant as it is now. Back then, you as a boy will be thinking of how you will join your father in mastering fishing, or how to farm. A girl will most likely be taking classes from her mother because she has to be groomed for respectable suitors to come for her hand in marriage.

Life goes on, and they teach what they learn to their children as well.

But life is very different these days. It is so difficult to be contented because there are just so many options out there for us. Left and right, we see what we can be, we see what we can have, and we can only lust after it more and more.

Back then, it didn’t make any sense for the son of a farmer to be jealous of the fisherman’s son because he caught a big fish. Neither will the blacksmith’s son be jealous when the farmer’s son harvest’s a big tuber of yam. Hell, one blacksmith’s son will not be jealous when another blacksmith’s son makes a major achievement, because he knows that he is learning and once he is ready, he will get his own done as well.

But today, people are in competition with invincible rivals. How can you be living a fake life for people who don’t even know you exist? You want things you can’t afford not because you want to use them, but because you want others to see you in a certain way. And when you can’t get these things, you get jealous and your heart becomes filled with envy.

_{Andrea Piacquadio}

If there is one thing we should learn from the people of the old days, is that we should learn contentment. We have been blessed with gifts and talents, and we have been endowed with resources. It is up to us to work on those resources and use them to push ourselves forward to get the life we want. There is absolutely no need for us to be comparing ourselves to others, feeling sad because we can’t afford what they seem to be buying with ease. We don’t know their story, we only know ours.

Please my friends, let’s not pressure ourselves. Sending ourselves into depression over something that should never even be an issue in the first place. Learn to know what you can and can’t afford, and stick to it. It will save you a lot of heartache in the future.

We need to find happiness in the little we have because it is only then that we would be able to get more out of life.

_{Kelvin Valerio}

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_{Thank you for reading. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below, I would love to know what you are thinking. Till we meet in the next post.}

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