Short Stories

Prompt #18 - Food For Thought

"People do not seem to realise that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character" - Ralph Waldo Emerson

What' s your opinion of the world?

The world itself, mother nature and the Earth and all things nature-related are both beautiful and horrifying. I can admire the landscapes, my mum is a gardener so I always have a garden full of brightly blooming flowers, when I go on holiday I admire lakes and oceans. But underneath the beauty of mother nature is the danger. Oceans can destroy, lakes can be so cold it causes death, mountains have avalanches, the ground can break open. So I see both the beauty and the danger, I'm inspired by the duality of it all. I'm also obsessed with stars and quiet nights. Seeing the stars gives me comfort, it relaxes me more than I ever could have thought it would. I'm simply starstruck every night.

The world-our world, the world of people and society is as hypocritical as me. I can admire the good-hearted nature of people who help others without thinking twice, and I can admire those who work hard for their efforts, but then there are people who thrive on other people's misfortune, who abuse their power to do bad instead of good. Like me, I think the world sees itself as non- judgemental, but when it comes round to it, we judge everyone in the instant we see them, be it in person or a photo, or simply from words they've spoken. Now I dislike myself for this and I am quick to tell myself off for judging others so quickly. But the world is not so quick.

I believe that we can make a better future for ourselves, we have advanced incredibly, we are creating cures and medicines for diseases, we are saving the lives of animals and people alike all the time. What annoys me most about our world is that people are racist, are bullies. Social media has taken over everyone including myself. My generation (Gen Z) have higher amounts of mental health issues, myself having issues, and the world is so divided against itself due to money. The number of times I have wished for money to not exist. Imagine if we had no money. We could socialise and go out for free and see the sights, meet people, live our lives to the fullest. Countries can stop arguing about debt and trading and having enough money for war. 

Imagine what the people on earth could do collectively if we respected everyone's beliefs and individual rights as people. Imagine the results it could bring.

Of course, I'm not proclaiming outright anarchy, some rules are needed to keep order and peace, but imagine if the whole world, all civilisations were equal. What would happen then?

Do you think whatever perspective you have on the world reflects on who you are?

I think it does, often how a person views the world reflects their personality, but I think that you can never truly know how a person views the world fully. Even above I feel like I have left out parts of my opinion as to write it all would take forever, it would take examining every aspect of it. It may show what type of person you are, and is again another way to form a quick judgement about others.

Is Emerson right? Why/why not?

Emerson is right, but again I think a person does not express their full character through their view of the world only some of it.