There is a tendency to restrict the meaning of poverty to its purely economic sense, that of lacking sufficient resources to make ends meet, or even worse, of not having the very basic necessities such as food and shelter. Such a reality exists. But a new kind of poverty is seeping in and it is alarmingly on the increase.
It is a poverty bred by what Fr Adolfo Nicolas SJ, the present father-general of the Jesuit Order calls “the globalisation of superficiality”. It is a subtle kind of poverty where in the midst of massive and instant communications and multiple distractions, we are surrounded with a fair dose of despair and boredom, where the sense of inner peace and joy is absent. This is clearly evident in the emerging trends demonstrating a degradation in mental well-being at all levels of society. Statistics indicate the increase in stress, anxiety, depression, self-harm and even, sadly, suicide.
Something has gone amiss. We are missing something in our evolutionary process. Life on the fast lane is becoming exhausting, and in the process we are losing the ability to make carefully discerned choices. As Bishop Greg O’Kelly SJ comments: “Confronting today’s young people are choices of an extensive nature, far more than confronted by their parents – not just choices of websites, or choices of TV stations, or the latest electronic gadget, or choices of stores in the shopping centres, but also choices of concerning values and beliefs and lifestyles”.
This ‘globalisation of superficiality’ tends to withdraw us in a world of our own, lacking depth and meaning. Our long and healthy human inter-actions, our body language and emotional well-being have now been abridged to a chat through some electronic media, exposed to the public.
A new kind of poverty is seeping in. It is an emotional poverty, the capacity to control and choose responses to a situation without resorting to self-destructive behaviour. It is a poverty in our support systems, as in friends, family and community members who can provide assistance in times of crisis. It is a spiritual poverty, where life lacks its divine purpose and becomes a mechanised existential reality, without depth and meaning.
We need to educate for depth
Superficiality is contagious and can spread through the social fabric like a wild fire. The forces of unbridled consumerism and unrestrained luxuries, propelled by commercial giants, create an attractive yet deceptive paradise, especially to our younger generation. Ironically, at the root of living a superficial life is a yearning to find one’s self.
It is within this scenario that ‘discernment of our life choices’ becomes indispensable. We need to examine what directions and consequences our choices will lead us to. We need to educate for depth. Within this backdrop of superficiality it is possible never to go beneath the surface, never to go in to those deeper places where our humanity registers. In O’Kelly’s words “There can be no full humanity without the dimension of creativity, of love, of thought, and of worship. To be fully human we must develop on all fronts”.
Superficiality is not confined to moral matters but also to politics, the environment and academic learning. Often the obsession to acquire more knowledge is sadly mistaken to mean that one acquires more ‘depth’ but it is far from the case.
It is the same with politics when instead of seeking the common good, eye-catching infrastructural projects are intentionally commissioned to capture votes.
Last but not least, superficiality may also dwell within a religious setting where a spiritual life becomes merely an intellectual position to be held, not a striving for righteousness. God becomes merely an object of intellectual thought, not a motivation for change of behaviour and attitude to imitate Him. Church teachings become intellectualised, not experiential.
In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, the Pharisee was confident of his own righteousness and looked down on everyone else. He stood in the temple and prayed: “God, I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.”
But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said: “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” And Jesus told his disciples: “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18: 9-14)
gordon@atomserve.net
Gordon Vassallo is an accredited spiritual guide at the Centre of Ignatian Spirituality.