WHAT MATTERS, REALLY?

Most human beings live stressful lives, always fighting problems and trying for a better life, which is almost always eludes us.  An article in CNBC paints an alarming picture:

'Our modern culture of overwork seems to have reached new heights. Even though we know that stress, especially chronic stress, is really bad for us, many of us still subconsciously ascribe to societal ideals that tell us that being 'so busy' and having little time for anything but work is normal or even good. Now, new research confirms what we already guessed — most American workers are stressed.

Paychex recently released the results of their survey on the current state of stress and the American worker, which was completed by 2,000 full-time U.S. employees.'

The survey found that:

'The majority of workers are stressed on any given workday

Participants were asked to rank their stress on a scale of one to five. One in four, 25.7 percent to be precise, said their stress was at a level four. And, 4.9 percent said it was at a five out of five. Altogether, more than 70 percent of respondents ranked their stress at a level three or higher. Over 60 percent said that they felt stressed three or more workdays per week, on average. This means that, on any given day, more workers are feeling stressed than not. This state really is the norm.'

These findings - and most people's everyday experience - raise fundamental questions about how we are choosing to spend our fleeting time on earth. Everyone worries about having enough money fro retirement yet 20% of British men die before they qualify for a pension: http://home.bt.com/lifestyle/wellbeing/did-you-know-20-of-men-die-before-retirement-age-11363985764112 - so all that worry was utterly pointless for millions of us.

What is the point of living if your life makes you unhappy? What is the point of worrying about bad things that will probably never happen? What is the point of anger when in the end it is futile?

Should we - at the very least - take some time each day to reflect on what we are doing and why we are doing it? Should we simply look at and listen to nature, and push aside our human clutter?