One Apple A Day #670 - Mors tua vita mea
"Mors tua vita mea" is an idiomatic expression in Latin, born in the Middle Ages.
The literal meaning is rather dramatic, "Your death is my life" and it refers to the fight for survival, like in a war or battle, where your defeat is necessary for my victory.
In a more broader sense, this phrase embodies the idea that one derives an advantage for someone else failure
Your loss is my gain.
It is an expression that distils competition, individualism and opportunism. It is often used to describe the harshness of life by those who feel life as a continuous struggle for survival.
A few events lately made me realize how many people are still trapped in the mindset of self-preservation. In a paradigm of scarcity, so we have to fight for the same resources. And the winners take it all.
I'm referring to good honest people, who have no desire to harm anyone. But when you're trap in that mindset, you become blind to the consequences of your actions. Caught in the idea that everyone is willing to do everything to get what they want and protect who they love, you just do the same.
It's the law of the jungle baby.
But we are not in the Middle Ages anymore. And the only outcome of approaching life with this mindset is that, in the end, everyone loses.
And I don't believe having better rules, laws or structures will change anything. If we create new structures from an old mindset, we will just sustain that mindset.
What is needed is a shift in consciousness.
One that moves us from self-preservation to self-realization.
"The biggest challenge we face is shifting human consciousness, not saving the planet. The planet doesn't need saving, we do." — Xiuhtezcatl Martinez (a 19 years old activist)