How to Win the Rat Race

In my culture, a rat is a pest. It is not a pet. The only rat that I have seen having any usefulness is a lab rat. Any other rat is a menace. It is something to be trapped or poisoned and killed. It is therefore only because of belonging to the information age that I have come to know of pet rats. I have seen pictures and movies of grand cages that form the homes of these members of families in the west. These rats are adored to the extent that when they die, funeral services are performed in their honour by the families to which they belong.

I have seen the healthy diet on which these “lucky” rats are fed. Specially developed food specifically meant for rats is well-packaged with high-gloss pictures of happy rats contentedly gnawing their delicious pellets. The cages in which they live are spacious with all the necessities (and luxuries) any rat would dare to wish for. Of particular interest to me in these cages is a large drum wheel suspended in one corner of the rat residence. This is equivalent of a gym corner (or more specifically, a treadmill) for humans. It is in this wheel that a rat can run all day, or get as much exercise as it needs.

Frantic Movement on the Same Spot

The expression, “Rat Race”, is derived from the activity undertaken by pet rats on the wheel in their cages. They can run for miles (or their equivalent in rat units) but they remain on the same spot. Scientifically speaking, no work is done because the mass (read the rat) has not moved an inch, irrespective of how much energy has been expended. It is this analogy that is used to describe a person who works extremely hard but after a long time (measured in years or lifetimes) has nothing to show for it. That person is said to be stuck in the rat race.

Stopping to Rest and Going Back

All employees, me included, look forward to weekends, public holidays, and leave days. This is because, one can get a small rest before he goes back to the frantic search for more money to pay bills and clear debts. Looking at it critically, most people would give up and stop working because it appears hopeless. However, most people have faith that if they work hard enough today, they will not need to do so much tomorrow. It is that faith that keeps them going even as the future looks bleak to the “naked eye”.

Eating to Maintain Energy

For the rat in the cage to find energy to keep rotating the wheel, it needs a lot of food. It gets this from continuous eating (refer to healthy diet above). The same applies to a working class person who has to expend a lot of energy and other resources just to remain in the same position. This is the reason why the rat race is considered futile. It uses up entire lifetimes of people without them growing or improving in any way. If anything, it is almost as if their descendants are also assured of taking over the same race and ending as hopeless as their parents (if not worse off).

Spectators Having Fun

People who keep rats as pets like to sit at the cages and watch them run in the wheel. Watching the rats making fools of themselves is the main reason they keep them. They love the endless entertainment the rats afford them but this is only possible as long as the rats remain in the cage. If a rat escapes from its confinement, you will experience the weird scenario of grown people standing on sofas and shaking in fear until they are assured that the culprit has been recaptured or killed.

Getting out of the Rat Race

The first step to the solution of any problem is acceptance. For you to get out of the rat race, you have to accept that you are trapped in an enclosure. You also have to realise that those who are outside looking in are enjoying watching you making a fool of yourself. The energy you spend rotating that wheel (read overhead expenses) should be preserved for breaking out of the cage. Once out, you have to remember that people will be afraid of you and will be working hard to recapture you and put you back in your enclosure. You therefore need to completely get out of that house and go far away where possibly, in the future, you will have rats of your own to watch and have fun.

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