by Zach Crepeau

Created on: December 15, 2008

Without Self, there could be no Society. At best we would be a mindless mass of machines working towards a similar goal, at worst..we would be mindfulmachines working towards separate goals. If an individual believes they have an obligation to society, they inevitably have an obligation to themselves. If we do not first attend to ourselves and our well being, how would that reflect upon our society? Society is only as strong as its weakest link, so I believe it's our duty to advance upon ourselves in order to further our society as a whole.

For those that don't believe in the future of Society, the answer here is simple. Without advancing either the self or society, what purpose is there in living? Even if you were to just dedicate yourself completely to nature or knowledge or anything to distract from Self and Society, you would still be advancing one of them in some small way. So for the sake of leading a fulfilling life, I find it important to give energy and attention to self. When you take pride and joy in who you are, that energy is transferred to those around you. When you acquire more knowledge or make a personal discovery, that information is spread out to those you come in contact with. While our individual steps towards self fulfillment may do little for our society, our collective efforts and advancements come full circle in the totality of our communities.

Now when I say we have an obligation to Self, this goes much deeper then just the individual you refer to as "I". It is each and every individual you come into contact with, because we are all connected in a very elemental and spiritual way. When one can go Past the Self and Truly grasp the concept of our collective consciousness, one begins to approach life from a different angle. This gives us the potential to alter the direction of our societies, as it's quite obvious we've taken a few wrong turns along the way. While at times it might seem impossible to change the world with our individual efforts alone, don't underestimate the effect you can have on others. We are all connected, so when you better yourself you better us all..even if only a little. Society is a very important aspect of who we are as a Race, as it is Society that has allowed us to get where we are today.

While our Societies have many problems and might even be going in the wrong direction in some cases, we cannot write off its contribution to us as a whole. Being able to progressively exist together is a wonderful part of who and what we are, and in Time one can only hope that we advance even further. Our world is in its current state thanks to thousands of years of misinformation and common ignorance. Now we are privileged enough to be living in an Age where knowledge is must easier to accumulate, as well as to share and express with one another. Terrible things still happen every day, but we may yet be able to bring about a change in our world.

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