This story is taught to all of us, read either in our dreams or in reality; we live the book. One-upmanship, it is the bestseller, that becomes us. That controls our lives, and yet, so subtly, binds us all together. It is the destructive element in our life, and yet, donnes an air of mutual binding between humans. In short, it is something that harms us, yet it is impossible to push our limits to the maximum without it. The epitome of paradoxes.
Now questions begin to arise. Why is it harmful? Well think about it. It demands us to fulfill a sense of greed; to own a bigger house, to have a better business, and therefore instills within us a sense of contempt and envy when we can't. Why is it necessary then? Because, without it, a lot of people would still be living on the streets, not worried about those who live better lives. And so it is a necessity throughout our futile chase towards being the best. It is arguable that one can do well without one-upmanship, but it is even more arguable that one-upmanship is the basis of most of our arguments; to prove oneself a better speaker than the other. .
Now towards our goal of achievement of an atmosphere that is conducive to acceptance and harmonious to living, what of it? The question arises whether or not it is within us, whose lives revolve around comparison and envy, to create such an atmosphere. The question is immaterial. The fact is that it is absolutely necessary for such an environment to be present and not so much as one of one-upmanship. It is more important to be able to look at a person who has been able to achieve more, and congratulate him on his success, than to push oneself to better the person. Each person's uniqueness lies in his or her own personality and not the price tag attached to their car. Each person's abilities are displayed by his or her successes not how big their personal swimming pool is.
The image I"m trying to portray is one wherein every one is happy with what they have and not with what they don't.
