Superficial Appreciation

There are those who believe that life is much better enjoyed from the said top of the hierarchical socially constructed pyramid. There are also others who believe life to be actually better appreciated from the base of that pyramid. Both views have strong support even when society has educated us to believe that life at the top is indeed better. Isn’t this debate a bit superficial, however?
Obtaining a place among the very top is what society teaches every inhabitant of this world to strive for. There are indeed many qualities that can be considered as worth the effort to reach the top. On the other hand, there are also many features of life at the bottom that make it worth the struggle which is experienced everyday in order to simply remain in the fight. This raises the question of how at the bottom is the bottom, which is portrayed here. Of course, the bottom portrayed here is not the floor of the pyramid but rather the middle of said structure.
The place to start would be education. The so called middle class has a much harder time providing their children with the easy access to education that is enjoyed by the higher class. In this sense, life would be much easier from the top since education seems to be the way for improvement. Education is the answer to how to step into a better level in the pyramid. It is said that money does not buy class but education seems to do so. The only way in which a middle class individual will ever be able to achieve such status is through education. Education is the way in which to acquire slowly but steadily a position next to those who oversee the world from the higher levels of the pyramid. But this is a place where that difference is marked. Those that come from the top do not appreciate education. They have access to it and that is what matters to them. Education becomes a tool to remain at the top. For those who come from the middle class, education goes beyond. It is appreciated and seized with great enthusiasm.
There is another critical issue at hand: healthcare. Those at the top undoubtedly have complete access to the best healthcare available while those at the bottom must conform themselves to barely having access to said right if at all. Hence, another reason to strive for reaching the top. Healthcare is a detail that is very important to enjoying a long and decent life, but which eludes those at the bottom.
There is also the idea of housing. It is unquestionable that those at the top have access to better housing by which is meant better quality houses as well as better neighborhoods. That, however, has never stopped those at the bottom from taking pleasure in the place where they live. One becomes accustomed to what is available and strives to improve. But a bigger house is not necessarily at the top of the list of necessities that are lacked by those at the bottom. There are more important articles such as food which is indeed sometimes not present at the table of those at the bottom, but that is never even considered as important by the top because it is always there.
Nevertheless, the above-mentioned are not the items of focus when judging the quality of life that is most valued. Luxury is at the top of the list. But luxury possesses such a superficial definition that it becomes difficult to distinguish it from mere excess. Everyone wants to have a luxurious life, but when such is acquired then there is a sense of emptiness because there are more important things that money cannot buy despite all its power. If one achieves that state of complete economic accomplishment the need to continue the struggle ends. Everything becomes pointless because there is not anything else worth fighting for. There are more important things in life than luxury, yet even those fixations are relative to who is questioned about them.
At the end, perhaps life at the top is better, but those who are at such position fail to appreciate it whereas those at the bottom precisely do the opposite. From the bottom one can value every single detail that makes life worth experiencing while at the top one merely sees life as one more possession. There is indeed a difference between simply enjoying and appreciating that same phenomenon.

xoxo,
Poison Drops


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