In John Milton’s Paradise Lost, Satan makes a number of observations, one being, “The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.” This suggests that each individual has the power to change their mindset on a situation, which can be translated to the present in an overwhelming amount of ways.
At one point or another, nearly everybody has been told less is more. Of course, many people associate this with how much dressing they put on their salad or something of that sort, superficial -- not thinking about how it can apply to lifestyles. The culture shock one experiences in a poorer country exemplifies Milton’s quote. Looking at how little some people have makes one wonder how they could not only survive, …show more content…
Roughly half of all marriages in the United States end in divorce. How is this possible if marriage is supposed to be an end-all with the person you love most? What once appealed to someone and made them fall in love with another is often what causes the end of the relationship. The mind manipulates your perspective and turns the person once seen as Heaven on Earth into Hell. The same can go for those not in committed relationships. Many people complain about being single and refuse to see their situation as a Heaven. Once someone decides they’re in Hell, the chances of them ever seeing it as Heaven are infinitesimal. Nonetheless, many single people realize the freedoms they have that committed people have given up. They won’t settle for someone they’re not sure of, or it’s not the right time for them to have anyone in their lives. Whereas some people see being alone as Hell, those that don’t recognize the Heavenly qualities of it. The implications of making a Heaven of Hell and a Hell of Heaven are shown everyday. In more modern terminology, mind over matter is a widely known expression that means exactly what Milton (Satan) says. The mind over matter philosophy is commonly applied to working out. Working out, Hell, can give the one working out their desired body, Heaven. By pushing through a little Hell to get to Heaven, the task at hand is often seen as a lesser “Hell” because of the end …show more content…
The line “beauty is pain” applies here. Beauty (Heaven) can only be achieved through pain (Hell) but it’s what we’re taught to strive for. Rather than celebrating the natural beauty of people, society pushes people to go through Hell in an attempt to achieve an impossible beauty standard. Entire industries thrive off of this dream of perfection, of Heaven. The beauty industry makes hundreds of billions of dollars a year convincing young women specifically that they need to look like the edited models on magazines. When teenagers grow up with this thought ingrained in their brains, what could’ve been a Heaven of self love often turns into a Hell filled of problems related to self-esteem. If the beauty industry keeps rising at the rate it is, is that really good for society? Is making money off of insecurities what the world should aspire to do? As mentioned before, being rich doesn’t always mean being happy. Those making billions of dollars off of insecurities are probably not as happy as those who have never experienced a life of luxury. While they can buy virtually anything, they can’t buy love or happiness.
The idea that money can’t buy happiness isn’t a new one. Even so, it’s a big idea that’s hard to fully comprehend. It backs up what Satan has emphasized in Paradise Lost; it’s not the physical
At one point or another, nearly everybody has been told less is more. Of course, many people associate this with how much dressing they put on their salad or something of that sort, superficial -- not thinking about how it can apply to lifestyles. The culture shock one experiences in a poorer country exemplifies Milton’s quote. Looking at how little some people have makes one wonder how they could not only survive, …show more content…
Roughly half of all marriages in the United States end in divorce. How is this possible if marriage is supposed to be an end-all with the person you love most? What once appealed to someone and made them fall in love with another is often what causes the end of the relationship. The mind manipulates your perspective and turns the person once seen as Heaven on Earth into Hell. The same can go for those not in committed relationships. Many people complain about being single and refuse to see their situation as a Heaven. Once someone decides they’re in Hell, the chances of them ever seeing it as Heaven are infinitesimal. Nonetheless, many single people realize the freedoms they have that committed people have given up. They won’t settle for someone they’re not sure of, or it’s not the right time for them to have anyone in their lives. Whereas some people see being alone as Hell, those that don’t recognize the Heavenly qualities of it. The implications of making a Heaven of Hell and a Hell of Heaven are shown everyday. In more modern terminology, mind over matter is a widely known expression that means exactly what Milton (Satan) says. The mind over matter philosophy is commonly applied to working out. Working out, Hell, can give the one working out their desired body, Heaven. By pushing through a little Hell to get to Heaven, the task at hand is often seen as a lesser “Hell” because of the end …show more content…
The line “beauty is pain” applies here. Beauty (Heaven) can only be achieved through pain (Hell) but it’s what we’re taught to strive for. Rather than celebrating the natural beauty of people, society pushes people to go through Hell in an attempt to achieve an impossible beauty standard. Entire industries thrive off of this dream of perfection, of Heaven. The beauty industry makes hundreds of billions of dollars a year convincing young women specifically that they need to look like the edited models on magazines. When teenagers grow up with this thought ingrained in their brains, what could’ve been a Heaven of self love often turns into a Hell filled of problems related to self-esteem. If the beauty industry keeps rising at the rate it is, is that really good for society? Is making money off of insecurities what the world should aspire to do? As mentioned before, being rich doesn’t always mean being happy. Those making billions of dollars off of insecurities are probably not as happy as those who have never experienced a life of luxury. While they can buy virtually anything, they can’t buy love or happiness.
The idea that money can’t buy happiness isn’t a new one. Even so, it’s a big idea that’s hard to fully comprehend. It backs up what Satan has emphasized in Paradise Lost; it’s not the physical