Nowadays, it is easier to be great because most people are weak. This should not be said as a mockery but with great, genuine concern and compassion. 

This is because it is not necessarily any individual’s fault but a great failure of society as a collective, and a success to those whose agenda has always been to get the world into the direction it is heading. The idea that if you want to control society, give it alcohol, entertainment and sexual freedom cannot be more visible than today. 

A large proportion of society’s time and energy is spent in a constant pursuit of pleasure and fun. Work and any other activities are not executed for their outcomes but are merely a means to an end. One would be willing to sacrifice their time, have sleepless nights to achieve and amass money only to expend it on pleasurable ventures. Once it is depleted, the cycle repeats itself. 

This is the precedence that has now been set for the next generation. A life of no greater purpose than for self-absorption and aggrandisation. 

A life disconnected from the fact that the collective status of the herd determines that of its members. To search for happiness in a miserable society is a path to self-defeat. The strength of the pack increases the wolf’s survival, compared to when it is alone. It is easier to be great today because to do that is no longer brain surgery.  All one must do is look at what most people are doing, and do completely the opposite. Be it socially or financially, the results of the majority and the 1% are self-explanatory. 

Most people would say they want to be great but then go on indulging in contrary habits. People would agree that one’s life is determined by the five people they spend their time with, but they still spend time with those they know they do not want to be. 

By now, all humankind should know change is the only constant thing. However, what most may not know is that we have a choice to change voluntarily or be changed by circumstances. 

In most cases, when we talk about change, it is with the notion that it is positive, but it could also be the opposite. The difference is that those who become great do not wait for circumstances to change them, but rather make deliberate decisions to change. 

In most cases, this would mean sacrificing temporary comfort for a comfortable future.Because they know that the best way to get to the top is to climb from the bottom of the tree.

Maybe it is also easier to be great nowadays because greatness has been misconstrued. Today’s greatness seems to be about aesthetics and presentation. This undermines the intrinsic value of human life to the point that there seems to be greater pressure to seek validation than to have a genuine and meaningful life experience. 

It undermines the fact that true greatness is spiritual, and starts from within. 

It starts with becoming one with the maker by exerting and exploiting every intelligence that is inherently within the vehicle that is giving one this earthly experience – the body. First, one must become great to themselves and then give themselves to the world. That is the greatness that will make one become the greatest – even if it is not of all. 

To put it religiously, seek first the kingdom of God, and greatness shall be given to you. 

Because this kingdom is within, to find it, you have to look.

*Karlos The Great

E-mail: karlsimbumusic@gmail.com.Uncommon Sense is published bi-weekly in the New Era newspaper with contributions from Karlos Naimwhaka. YouTube channel: Karlos Lokos