Perhaps it’s in our nature to want things we don’t have. We assume that fulfilling what we crave for will make us happier. 

We want the job that pays more money; we want the academic degree of that other person; we want the newest gadget that just came out; and the list goes on and on. In reality, we often want things that might be bad for us. This is because of our limited understanding of what is good and what is bad. In the end, we might be giving up what’s better for what is worse.

We have a tendency toward this mindset, not only toward things that are apparent and tangible. Rather, we do this for more abstract things as well. We substitute rituals, habits, culture, tradition, and other objects of large scale and high complexity, sometimes those that have been organically developed for years, decades, and even millennia because we see their substitutes as something better, when they’re actually not.  

An example is Ladakh, a region in the West Himalayas. There is a documentary on Ladakh here. The documentary shows Ladakh’s transition from being a tightly woven traditional culture who were happy, self-sustained, lived in harmony with nature, and in harmony with each other, into the chaos that is modern (western) culture.  

As a consequence, much of the knowledge and tradition that has been passed down for generations; knowledge on traditional agriculture, knowledge on traditional production of garment, knowledge on celestial bodies, knowledge on peaceful interaction in society and nature, etc. have been lost, replaced by superficial knowledge (yes, I’m talking about everything or most of the things that are being taught in modern schooling) that have little to no context for living a happy and ethical life.

We have been seeing this all over the world. For the sake of progress and modernity, traditional values have been killed and replaced with detrimental effects. 

A closer example to myself is the replacement of traditional agriculture practices that use polyculture to monocultures. In polycultures, because of the dynamic interaction between species, less fertilizer and pesticides are used. The yield may not be as high as monocultures, but the balance of the ecosystem is maintained and there is less strain on the environment. 

In monocultures, yields may be higher, but there is high usage of fertilizers and pesticides. Agriculture is a huge industry in Indonesia and it is now a tool to accumulate large amounts of wealth. Farmers are not among the beneficiaries though. They are actually the ones who are being oppressed and being made dependent on products from the industry. The conglomerates are pushing farmers to the edge of society and are being made guilty for the environmental degradation caused from modern farming practices. 

At a more philosophical level, we are seeing changes in global society. We are seeing substance being replaced by show, nonsense, and shallowness. People are now choosing tiktok with its useless videos instead of reading real books and gaining real knowledge, among the many different examples.

All this phenomena only confirms what has been mentioned in my previous posts, here and here, saying that humanity is on a downward spiral, and its collective consciousness is deteriorating instead of improving.

We need to go back to our roots. Track back to the footsteps of our forefathers. There is so much wisdom and knowledge lost, and I truly fear for the future generation. To break the downward spiral of humanity, knowledge from the past needs to be preserved and reintroduced. 

Change isn’t always good, no matter how much we crave it. Contrary to the many who are pushing its narrative. 

God knows best!

Reflection of Surah Al Baqarah Verse 61

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