The Myth of Authority Or perhaps - The Educated Witness: Power Without 'Paragon'.
We can live without accumulated wealth, but not without resources. And that distinction matters more than ever in the 21st century.
Wealth vs. Sufficiency Wealth, as defined by property, savings, and investments, has become the dominant measure of security. But sufficiency, having enough to eat, shelter, learn and care, is a different metric. Many live without wealth, but few thrive without access to basic resources.
The System Is Not Neutral Modern economies are structured around wealth accumulation. From housing to healthcare, access often depends on capital. Living without wealth today often means navigating systems that penalise poverty, through debt, exclusion, or precarity. We are also seeing, once wealth is accumulated those within the institutions and the 'elite' has ways of farming wealth when it is needed without permissions, keeping economies struggling and the people poor as leverage, for power or control.
Alternative Models Exist Communal living and cooperative economies offer ways to reduce dependence on personal wealth.
Universal Credit or Basic Income (UC/UBI) is being explored as a buffer against inequality and automation the push and pull scenario to counter unemployment as new mechanisations slowly replaces the workforce, leading to further manipulating the people.
Spiritual and philosophical traditions remind us that legacy is not measured in assets, but in wisdom, relationships and impact.
Your Reflection Echoes Here “We cannot take our wealth when we die, only what is within our soul.” That truth remains. The 21st century may demand wealth for survival, but it does not require it for meaning. The soul’s ledger is written in how we treat others, not what we own. It also looks at how we treat ourselves, we can see many are struggling.
Isn't it strange how life is very short for human kind, the question is why? It is strange and profoundly humbling. Human life, on average, spans just a few decades. In cosmic terms, we are flickers. But perhaps that brevity is not a flaw, it’s a feature.
Biological Design Our bodies are built for a finite cycle. Cellular aging, genetic limits, and environmental stressors all contribute to our lifespan. Evolution favoured reproduction and adaptation, not indefinite survival, with perspective, we are in a waiting room on earth, occupying ourselves and being observed, until mortality kicks-in.
Cosmic Perspective Compared to the age of the universe; 13.8 billion years or 28 billion depending on who's research one wishes to adopt—our lives are a breath. But that brevity sharpens our awareness. It forces urgency, meaning and reflection. As one writer put it: “Life is short, and for good reason, it’s meant to be meaningful”.
Psychological Compression Time feels faster as we age. Days blur, years compress. Our perception of time is shaped by novelty, attention and memory. The more routine our lives, the quicker they seem to pass.
