All the Same, Same the All

You can tell pretty easily what is important to people. Just look at what they choose to brag about. The boasting doesn't have to be (and most often isn't) verbal or direct. It is simply what they take pride in, what they desire, what they show off, what they present, what foot they put forward.

That middle-aged man you saw driving down the street in a Ferrari.

That woman you saw walking in $3000 boots from a designer you can't pronounce.

That guy in the bar drinking a beer 8 times more expensive than all the others.

They are all making a statement that can basically be drilled down to "I'm better than you." Everyone tries to differentiate themselves. Everyone tries to show people they are better than others. There are seemingly endless avenues for this.

The actual reality though is that it is just overcompensation for an insecurity. The fact is that fundamentally, we are all the same. I don't even mean strictly that people are the same as other human beings. I mean that we are all the same as any other organism in existence. We are walking protoplasm that masquerades as something more glorious than worm food. This sounds nihilistic, but I assure you it is not. I have no issue with valuing human life as being worth more than other forms of life. In fact, I think you are screwed up if you don't (You hear me, PETA?!)

There is a clear separation between realizing that you are not objectively superior or even different than a tree or a virus and placing personal value on yourself, your species, your tribe, etc. Life shouldn't be changed by the realization that it ends. You should have always known that anyway. In fact, it should only spur you to value it more. These values are universal.

There is no point in valuing someone for their car. You receive nothing in the grand scheme of things by proving yourself smarter than someone else. You show nothing by flaunting the fact that you have more money. You still die. You still fade. Your effect on the earth is nothing more than that of a rock or a tree. Just in the same way that the earth's effect on the universe is nothing more than the sun or Alpha Centauri. The real point is to just enjoy yourself with the time you have. It is actually quite liberating to realize that you are no more than dirt or air or fire or dust or wind or dust in the wind.