The history of our world is undoubtedly portrayed through various artefacts, which come in many forms themselves; whether they are pictures, paintings, or documents. All of these, as most historians would call historical evidences, are great at showing the evolution of mankind and its surroundings; however the most significant pieces which stand and battle the worst of weather or simply vandals, carry the most importance. The Seven wonders of the world themselves have stood by the wear-and-tear of time; not only because of the spectacular technology applied in the time they were created, but also because their purpose was to remain and carry importance forever, in other words educate forever.
So aren’t these monuments the greatest gift time has offered to many individuals? Each and every monument whether it was built in the past or opened to the public today teaches and carries values every single person can learn from. It is pretty interesting when we as individuals start understanding how discovery and science began with simple findings of ancient time capsules.
Keeping in mind the whole purpose these structures were built, it is time to also reflect upon how they have survived in this world for so long. Technology yes, however philosophically speaking, human beings are similar to these monuments which are supposed to carry significance. For many years, these monuments have undergone problems; however with maintenance, they have been able to preserve their beauty and importance.
Historical monuments can be used as an analogy which relates to human beings. We also age with time, just like the monuments; however we let whatever events that take place in our lives, impact ourselves. Events which are good, help to better our character; however we tend to lose the logic in our thinking if we have to face an event that impacts us badly. Why can’t we stay stable, or the same? Why do we change constantly?
During the last few weeks of school, many people came and signed a “never change,” on my yearbook. Why should I not change? A change is considered a change if one changes for the better; therefore I can change, but I should for the better right?
The preserving of historical figures, monuments and statues has only added to their importance with age; therefore educating us their value in the hearts of our ancestors. In the world, people “live to tell the tale”; for that is how history is passed down; so I ask, why can WE not live to tell the tale, our tale?
The problem lies in our perspective of life, our perspective of people, our perspective on anything good or bad that happens to us. What we fail to realize is the significance of the two words good and bad, which complete each other. Without good, there is no bad, and without bad, nothing can be classified as good.
As confusing as it may seem, we all fail to let things handle themselves once in a while. We cannot beat age; therefore we design products overflowing with chemicals so that we can “psychologically” assume we look younger. We tell people we don’t hate anyone; however we curse them in our minds. We let our friends know we care; however we fail to keep in touch. We tell ourselves we don’t think of us as superior to others; however when someone is facing a conflict, we find ourselves grateful and better off to not be in their shoes. Whatever we say, we think oppositely; isn’t that what it all boils down to?
Fact is, we like to be near people who make us happy, we like to do things that interest us, we like to participate in events which cause us no harm... US US US US US, ME ME ME, I I I...just stop. All humans, sadly, are like this; whether you are the Pope, or the vilest person on this planet, we all think like this once in a while. What is more unfortunate is that we ourselves are the cause of the stress in our lives because when we think of ourselves first, and we find ourselves unhappy, we try to think of ways to better our lives quickly; however the minute we speed things up and they don’t happen, is the minute we start causing stress for us and others.
We cannot stay stable like the monuments present in our world; we cannot defy the effects of time and people; however we can stabilize our perspectives, our feelings, and our judgements. Stabilizing how we deal with problems, people, and ourselves can truly help our souls defeat the “wear down” effects of time, even if our bodies can’t. A great person once told me, “After we die, our bodies remain; however it’s our name and the legacy we leave with what others remember us by.” Who cares if you die with an enormous fortune or have the best body in the world? What matters is how you lived, valued and enjoyed your life and tried to improve yourself as an individual.
We might not be made of plaster, clay, stone or metal; all the materials which tend to defy aging; however we should train our thinking and perspective to be like those materials so we can influence stability and happiness in our lives.
