The international anthem of modern-day society and premium human beings.

Have you ever wanted to uppercut someone so bad because of how they've treated you? I can bet at least once in your

life, you've had this kind of experience. The world is too filled with negativity now for compassion to even cross

people's minds. “I don’t deserve to be treated this way” has become the international anthem of modern-day society.

It's known by every single member of current society except newborns and maybe our elderly who don’t really care

anymore. Keep this anthem at the back of your head. Those whose brain cells don’t listen to this anthem every day

have probably already evolved into some premium kind of human being. The rest of us? Well, let's just call us human

beings- lite version. Modern reality is plagued by its counterfeit- the digital media, with glorious statements of

vacations, Gucci bags, and beauty products. When was the last time you sat down and thought, “maybe they have

their troubles too”, or “maybe they’re not actually living the perfect life”? This media has become the measure of

success for modern day, with certain youtubers adamant on expressing their either extremely thriving or extremely

pitiful life, in hope that everyone they welcome back to their channel will give them any language of validation.

Everyone looks like they're having the best time of their lives, or the worst. No in between. There is always a black

and white, right or wrong. Once again, no in between. What even is compassion anyway? Well, hey guys welcome

back to my channel, today we'll be discussing compassion, and how to evolve into a premium human being. 

Step one: recognition

The first stage of the evolution is called “recognition”. It's the process of understanding and acknowledging that you

lack compassion, and that the world is not that harsh after all. If the international anthem of modern-day society is

your number one song on Spotify brain, then, this is probably the stage you need to transition into. With stage one,

you have to come to realise it eventually yourself. No forcing. If you force yourself to do this, then it becomes the

endless cycle of self-deceit, and we don't want that. Personally, I had come to the realisation that I probably lacked

compassion when I found myself ranting about the same people to one of my friends every single week. Each

Instagram post, each tweet, made me feel like life was so unfair, allowing these unkind people to be having the best

time of their lives. Hypocritical, I know. But then, when the lightbulb in my head switched on, I realised that we were

all humans, and we all have our own struggles. I thought “hey, let ourselves be a bit kinder, shall we?”, as the

evolution began for me. 

Step two: understanding 

Once you recognise that the world is actually not so bad, you move on to stage two, “understanding”. Stage two

involves attempting to understand reason in another's action. In my opinion, this is probably the hardest thing to get
into your head. Once, I was congratulating someone because they got top marks as a means of expressing kindness to

them. However, I was taken aback when they replied with criticism of my action, labelling me to be “full of myself”.

When I got into the understanding stage, I replaced “I hope you trip on a banana peel'' with “you are probably going

through something too and may be insecure about yourself, leading you to act this way”. Once I did this, the

international anthem of modern-day society slipped out of my number one spot on Spotify brain. 

Step three: gratitude 

So, it turns out that trying to understand other people's actions is not so bad after all. It's now time for you to transcend

to stage three, “gratitude”. As the title suggests, by simply being thankful for three things you have daily, you’ll

realise that it becomes a lot easier to be compassionate towards other people, and you’ll feel the weight of feathers

that were once on top of you to be softened. In other words, you’ll realise that they’re actually just feathers and not

some other heavy thing that you thought they initially were. Step three is all about making life loveable for yourself,

and through the action of gratitude, the compassion becomes consistent. As James Clear has written in his book,

Atomic Habits, “make it satisfying”. I'm sure at this point, while reading stage three of the evolution, you’ve become

more aware of the progress you've really made. Compassion is really key. 

Disclaimer:

It is, in fact, untrue, if I had said you must be compassionate towards every single individual. As much as it is best to

keep a holistic mindset of compassion, it does no harm to acknowledge that love, honour, pity, pride1, are all

inevitable emotions of the human spirit, and it is these emotions which spark the significance in individuality.

Compassion can be set aside in certain situations, like if somebody purposefully tries to wrong you. Sometimes,

compassion can’t be applied, because there are actions in life which are lacking in congruence between aspects of

yourself2. In order words, an objective sin.

It might take a while for you to undergo the complete evolution. I myself am currently taking more than a year. I

began stage one in 2019, and even now, I am still in stage two. I’m trying. If you have come back to re-read this after

completing your journey, I commend you on becoming a premium human being.

No, seriously. Good on you. Before we end this video, I would like to ask you, what is the international anthem of

modern-day society?

1
Reference to the title of Nam Le’s Love and Honour and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice.
2
Reference to the quote from Dennis Packard:
“Sin is about a lack of congruence between aspect of oneself”
You don't know? 

Congratulations. 

Reflection:

Why Compassion is a theme of discussion:

Compassion, as a value that is consciously known but minimally executed in society, is the key to finding happiness

in the present life for individuals. This value is important as compassion minimises negativity such as jealousy,

despise and anger, and can collectively improve society. Individuals simply are not taught how to correctly apply

compassion to everyday life, although some may wish to. The purpose of my composition is to express the importance

of compassion with a “tutorial” like format, and how to execute it, for those who wish to practice compassion, but do

not know where to begin, or where to proceed. The composition also expresses an alternative side of non-compassion

and provides insight to the humane aspect of emotions.

Which texts inspired me:

Throughout my discursive, I utilised the splitting of paragraphs into specific sections, explaining each technique

differently and using informal language to show the faults in these techniques. Such a form is inspired by George

Orwell’s “Politics and the English language”(1946). Orwell also utilises italics to propose his own opinions

throughout his essay. Orwell’s opinion of an unjustifiable assumption3 is a technique mirror in my essay with the use

of similar italicised lines “In my opinion, this is probably the hardest thing to get into your head”. Such is holistically

implemented throughout my composition with the use of first person. Orwell further uses intertextual references to

consolidate his opinion. Such is reflected in my composition through the connection to James Clear’s “ Atomic

Habits”(2018), where similarly to Orwell, I apply the direct reference of the quote “make it satisfying” 4 as well as a

reference to the postulate of “lack of congruence is an absolute sin” by the philosopher Dennis Packard. This

3
Orwell, Politics and the English language.
4
The title of the final chapter of Clear’s Atomic Habits.
effectively connects and interacts with the reader by allowing them to better understand my perspective in the

discussion. 

The use of humour throughout my composition is the most prominent technique. By using non-stereotypical

descriptions such as “Banana Peel”, and self-proclamations of “I’m trying”, humour will engage the audience further,

allowing them to be entertained throughout the entire composition. Such humour and conversational tone is inspired

by Mark Manson’s “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck”(2016), where Manson effectively utilises this humour to

keep the audience curious and wishing to further understand the context of a written piece of life 5. The personal

anecdote, such as “Once, I was congratulating someone because they got top marks…”, is a technique used by Nam

Le in “The Boat”(2008), as well as Manson. Anecdotes prove a creative way to consolidate the opinion of the author,

hence by incorporating one into my text, it allows it to become more relatable for the audience, further prompting

engagement.

The metaphor of “the weight of feathers” is a technique inspired by Nam Le’s use of metaphors in the boat. Through

“the fields are glass” and “a stone dropped like a single syllable”, Nam Le effectively uses metaphors to symbolise his

feelings and consequences of actions. “The weight of feathers” in my text metaphorically symbolises the importance

of mindset and how compassion can change perspective on the world. This metaphor is further enhanced through the

use of irony, in “weight of the feathers”, in which a commonly light object, feathers, is portrayed to be heavy under

the influence of negativity. 

Finally, the use of neologism, under influence from Orwell’s “Politics and the English language” and Fumitake

Koga’s “The Courage to be Disliked” has consolidated the title and holistic theme for my discursive composition,

creating a spiritual reflection of a modern times story 6. A direct reference to the modern app, Spotify7, forms an

intangible environment for the human mind 8, and connects with the audience through this familiarity. My use of

“international anthem” and “premium human beings” applies this neologism to spark humour and interest of the

audience, not only increasing engagement of the composition, but also simplifying themes to allow better

understanding.

5
Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck.
6
Koga, The Courage to be Disliked.
7
An internationally used music app.
8
Kondo, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.