I would find it difficult to begin any blog post with any word other than that which I just have: I. Come to think of it, I would imagine most of us have. Despite some of us making our best efforts to be as selfless as possible, it - naturally - is difficult to really perceive life from anything beyond our own minute lens. That does not mean, however, that we are inherently bad people; it does not mean we are incapable of caring for or helping others. It simply means that we are human, no matter what we do, and therefore can never be omnipresent. But that is not to say that this limitation means that we cannot try to be better, that we cannot try to limit our sense of self, that we cannot become more enlightened.
I often find that there is something of a sense of irony around the chasing of some spiritual enlightenment: the desire to let go of oneself to obtain something grander. Surely, the sacrifice of material gain in the pursuit of spiritual gain is still performing actions for the benefit of yourself. Perhaps then, it is not so difficult at all for an egotist to achieve enlightenment - ultimately they are simply swapping the reward for their actions from the physical to the mental or spiritual is not all that big of a deal. Now, instead of showing off their latest purchase down the pub they can instead laud over their friends about having achieved a higher purpose, and that they are all greedy capitalist pigs.
Beyond this contradiction, though, it is important for those chasing this sense of enlightenment to truly let go of these motivating factors - external or internal. In the teachings of Hindusism, action is still an important part of day-to-day life; inaction, deciding to give up everything in the name of achieving enlightenment, is not beneficial in truly achieving these goals. This is nothing new - it is within the Bhagavad Gita, a text over 2000 years old - but with the advent of the internet, the toxic message of deserting all worldly pleasures in exchange for a sense of superiority is something that spreads like wildfire.
Abandoning everything is the simple answer, running away and giving up all material pleasures in a distant safe haven. While sacrifices are made here, it simply does not add up with the times that we live in. And often when it does, it is accompanied by a departing post to social media with the least well-disguised subtext of "look how fucking fantastic of a human I am".
The pleasures of modern life are just that: pleasures. Designed to be enjoyed, the idea that we should allow ourselves none of this joy is simply ludicrous; not only that, but it reeks of a sense of privilege. While it would be nice to leave our phones and all social media behind and live a life free from the stresses that come with that, quite frankly these things have become so important to existence that it isn't tangible. Why should someone born with a silver spoon in their mouth, capable of funding their nomadic lifestyle on the back of their inherited fortune be made to feel superior to the person that needs to access their phone in case an extra shift becomes available? A shift, might I add, that more often than not can make the difference between being able to eat or not.
With that technology does come the downsides that we all know too well - the obsession with what others are doing, constant comparisons and competition between ourselves and those around us, the need for constant distraction, and a self-obsessive lifestyle through which we only present carefully crafted versions of ourselves out into the digital world. However, that is not to say that it is all bad. Therefore, the question I pose is how in fact can someone achieve any sense of self-actualisation, of enlightenment within this constant data stream?
The truth is, as it always has been, that there isn't an answer. Well, there is an answer, it just happens to, conveniently, be slightly different for everyone. For some, it will be cutting down on their social media usage, while for others it will be completely ridding themselves of it. For some, it will be taking time to get out and socialise more, while for others it will be learning to take time for themselves.
Essentially, we are all different. But as long as you are trying to be a better person, to improve on your actions, and making an effort to do good by the people and the world around you - you are on the right path. Actualisation doesn't come from attaining perfection, it comes from the quest to do better.