Everything I Need to Know
in Life I Learned From Jack the Ripper
by Syd Wright Downe
Introduction
As we go through
life we are often puzzled by the choices and
dilemmas of our daily dramas. We lose sight
of the fact that our daily problems will
occur again and again, and when we deal with
them on a daily basis, we are merely holding
them at bay. If we can, however, look at
the long term and form principles and
beliefs that are good for decades, then our
daily travails will become visible as mere
bumps and rough patches. We also sight of
the fact that there are no problems or
questions which have not been encountered
and overcome by others. If we can look at
how others have led their lives, not only
will we draw inspiration from their example,
but they can actually help us form our all
important principles and beliefs which will
sustain us over those bumps and rough
patches.
I remember how I
began to see through the fog of life as I
became acquainted with the life of Jack the
Ripper. What began for me as mere
entertainment slowly evolved into
philosophical enlightenment. I began to
realize I had found my mentor, a man who
adapted his beliefs and principles into his
daily life and thereby not only found his
way over his own bumps and rough patches,
but conducted his life with simple human
integrity.
Through the study of
Jack's life, I realized I could boil down
the complexity of problems and behavior into
13 simple rules for living, infinitely
flexible and applicable. Don't try to
incorporate them all into your behavior or
thinking in one day. Don't even try to read
them all in one day. Each rule requires
contemplation and practice. You won't get
them all right at first. It would be
foolish to plunge right in. Take one at a
time. Practice it. Get the kinks out.
Then try another. If you can take it as I
have, the meaning of life will emerge over
time before your eyes, making you a
stronger, healthier and happier human.
Rule Number One: Find
Your Own Happiness
The biggest mistake
any person can make is letting another
person determine what one's unique form of
happiness is. We observe. We try. But
happiness is more internal than the appendix
and more unique than fingerprints. Jack
found his. And although your own happiness
may not consist of removing appendices or
obliterating fingerprints, as Jack's did,
there is something out there will make you
happy. Find it!
Rule Number Four: Become
Skilled in Your Technique
Until you become
good at what you do, noone will take you
seriously. Although Jack is called the
Ripper, a large part of his charisma lay in
his anatomical knowledge and skill. The
police and citizens of London were enrapt
with the continuing story of a man who did
NOT merely hack and slash his way to
satisfaction, but instead, under
circumstances that must have been harried
and trying, took the time to sever the
kidneys and remove the ovaries. When we
think about what that must required in those
pitch black London streets when Jack's
ardrenalin was racing after the screaming
and the death struggle, we must respect
Jack, just as the police and citizens of
London did.
Rule Number Five: Stay in
Touch
"Hi Boss". That's
how Jack began his first famous letter to
Scotland Yard. Jack knew he couldn't walk
in the door and talk to the detectives in
person. And yet he had the thoughtfulness
to let them know he had not forgotten them.
In our lives also we will often be unable to
be with those we care about. But we must
not let them think we have forgotten.
Rule Number Eight:
Practice Moderation
Here also we can
look at Jack and find matter for emulation.
Immoderation often leads to ruin. Jack knew
the virtue of moderation. He killed five
victims and then went away. Dr. Harold
Shipman, in unfortunate contrast, kept
injecting those elderly women with
heart-stopping substances, and it finally
came back to haunt him. How satisfied Dr.
Shipman must have been with the 15th or 30th
or 150th victim. But he had to experience
the satisfaction to a completely
immoderate degree, and somewhere after the
250th victim, his luck played out.
Rule Number Thirteen:
Always Leave While You're Having Fun
There is no
substitute for a graceful exit. The problem
with having fun is, first, that it never
goes on forever, and, secondly, that we
always act like it will. Parties,
relationships, jobs - they all end, and
usually in sourness and bitterness. The
wise person has the strength to leave while
he or she is still enjoying himself or
herself. It can't go on forever. So leave
on a high note, and don't let others try to
keep you there until the bad stuff starts.
Jack had strength. He had slaughtered his
fifth victim in an unprecedented fashion.
Inasmuch as it occurred indoors, he had the
leisure to eviscerate the victim entirely,
lining up organs on the window sill and
cutting the victim's face off. Then Jack
disappeared. He knew things weren't going
to get better than that.
Flushing, May 2005