Smoke and Mirrors

By Sonny Go

What do you think of the world you were born into and forced to live in?
We were born into this world, promised with a life full of infinite possibilities. We were guaranteed a place of honor in society, and in the future, we were promised education, livelihood and the capability to marry someone and have a family. We have been told that we can do what we want to do to live our lives to the fullest.
And then, society turns its back on us.
We have lived in this world for quite some time, and it's sure that there are some things that we have realized throughout the years. We have been trained to do what must be done. But, the question is, what is it that must be done? Human beings have asked themselves one question throughout history. Why are we here?
We are being fooled. We have been conditioned from the moment we are born that there's nothing we can do to change things around us. We have been instructed to just conform to the rules. In school, we have been taught to follow our leaders and accept their word as the divine truth. We have been exposed to the ways of common society and taught that deviation results in excommunication. As we grow, we turn into the same faceless clay mold as everyone else. All set to the tune of the rules of human society.
Consider how little freedom we have nowadays. Yes, there is still a little bit of freedom. Freedom to choose between Coke and Pepsi. Freedom to choose between Adidas and Nike. Freedom to choose between a handful of people to call as the leader of our nation. But we don't have freedom to have the things that the world truly wants. We only have freedom to choose between options given to us by other people. We are now defined by what society dishes out. We live in a world where 51% get to have what the 49% don't want. We have become slaves to the system of the human world.
The world had gone material for a very long time. Everyday, we see commercials that tell us to buy something. Everyday, we see magazine covers imprinting various images into our heads. Everyday, we hear someone talking about dreams of making lots of money and living large. Television, advertisements, movies, newspapers, magazines, radio, even word of mouth... The propaganda spreads and gets into people's minds like hypnosis. At first, it was pretty neat. But after a while, the negative effects began to dig deep into everyone's skin. It dictated the actions of the masses from then on. No one's an individual anymore. All of a sudden, everybody wanted to do the same thing. Without any sort of reconsideration or reflection on themselves. They have forgotten the one key element to true enlightenment. It's not the things that you would want to own. It's not the things that are in the back of your mind, screaming at you to take control of it because you live in a world where there's full of them. It is self-reflection. Asking yourself: "What do I really want in this life? ...in this world?". Are these things what we really want?
After it all takes effect, it becomes clear. Little evidences scattered around the world. Certain people's lives as testaments to the monsters that it has created. The material world having commercialized sin and packaging it as a trend. These things have been redesigned as something normal, something friendly, something good, and something we would enjoy. Something that would enable us to be happy with it, even for a while. Bliss leaking out of it as a package for such a thing. Whatever it is, it depends on how you view it, because it's not easy changing minds. It's not easy telling them that it's something that has fooled us for all this time. No matter what is done, we still have our eyes on it, every single day.
These things are what dictates our every action. These things are around us. Money, material possessions, urges, preset standards, and so on. I would want to believe in the nobility of the human creature, but I'm beginning to doubt. Now, I could be wrong with all of this. Currently, I'm 19 years old. In the near future, I might change my mind. Maybe I will be able to refine this ideology or I will fall victim to the system. Either way, may this piece serve as a testament to my search for personal enlightenment and true social freedom. Freedom from all these things. Freedom to truly do what I need and want to do. Freedom to truly live my life to the fullest. Freedom to become truly human.
A world without all the magic tricks. Just pure human potential, taking shape into something beautiful.

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