Creatures driven and derided by vanity, aren't we

"Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity, and my eyes burned with anguish and anger." - Araby, page 190.

After reading this last sentence in Araby, I thought a lot about being trivial and material and shallow and vain. Everyone does it. I do it. I constantly do it and it makes me angry that I could lower myself to that kind of thinking. We often forget the things of real, honest importance in our lives, and replace them with stupid stuff of quick pleasure or temporary happiness, just to save us from a little discomfort or boredom. When will we be able to separate the two and only choose that of relevance? Will it ever happen? Or will we always be able to see ourselves as "creatures driven and derided by vanity"? Of course, the narrator is only thinking of the girl he fancies, but this thought applies to the entire world and all the creatures in it. We, as humans, were gifted the ability to reason and we should view it as a privilege, not a right. Determine what is trivial in your life and if it really makes you happy. If it doesn't? Replace it with something of real importance.