Spend it away!

The first step towards the solution of any problem is the admission that a problem exists. Under the given environment in which we are spending our lives, we do not have the capacity to exercise free will. 

Note the word ‘spending’ above. This is the way in which we normally refer to the passing of days from our arrival in this world to our departure for the next. We spend our lives, but do we live them? It is a matter of common knowledge, not requiring any level of study in finance or economics, that when you spend something, you must get something else in return, something better or at least as good as that spent. Another matter of common sense is that when you spend something, you part with it. It is gone from your possession. Whereas our spending of life fulfills the second criteria, i.e. we don’t possess the spent moments anymore, the first condition is hardly ever present. What makes the whole transaction even more serious is that the spent moments, unlike spent money, can never be recovered. When spent, they are gone forever. But what do we get in return. Do we get anything beyond life in return? We cant prolong our life, we can only improve its quality, and that too according to the definition of improvement that we have received from the world, a definition that has been infinitely influenced by our genes, our environment, our education, our society etc. all of which, as explained above, are not under our control. When your life does not give you anything beyond itself, you have spent it. When you gain things that are not within the domain of the life itself in return, you have lived. Thus, if it is accepted that the possibility of spending your life in return for gains that are not a part of this mundane and uncertain existence exists, and when it is also admitted that we are not making such gains to any mentionable degree, the logical conclusion is that there is something wrong.

We have the gift of free will but we have not achieved the freedom required to exercise it. Therein lies the problem and in the realization of this lies the first step towards the solution, the first step towards becoming human.