Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
There is a certain comfort in not
caring. It's so easy to brush things off with an “EH”. It's so
easy to nonchalantly let life and its issues pass by and not even
check the rear-view mirror. It's too easy.
For decades, I fought a dreaded battle
against lethargy. Like a fat, complacent cat not wanting to be roused
from its slumber, I was apathetical; unmoved by the multitude of
personalities, ideas, global issues, and injustices that surrounded
me. In short, I didn't give a shit about anything.
I shied away from it all. Perhaps it
was fear of making the leap from the objective to the subjective or
simply a depressive indifference I faced. But I knew I wanted to be
sophisticated and outspoken to voice my opinion and individuality. Stifling my inner-voice meant being trampled by those who piped up
the loudest or influenced by those who spoke boldly and with
confidence and conviction.
We live in societies separated by
political and religious affiliation but I always doubted that
everyone miraculously fell into one category or another. So many
people couldn't possibly agree on one thing. I didn't want to feel
pressured. I hated feeling obligated to walk down the avenues of
RIGHT or LEFT or conform and join a team in the political arena. And
I absolutely abhorred dogma. Isn't the world big enough to house new
ideas?
But conformity is a recurrent theme in
the blueprint of nature. For example, the molecules in water droplets
pool together in what is known as cohesion:
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| Photo Credit: Sparks of David Photography |
Some vines and other vegetation weave
themselves through other plants in an attempt to gain more light and
secure survival:
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| Photo Credit: Sparks of David Photography |
Fire, musical synchronization, clouds,
even the “slow-clap” are all examples of forces that will eventually find order, symmetry, and
harmony.
So too, regarding human nature, many
choose to conform to conventional ways of thinking and succumb to the
force of gravity that pulls us downward when we try and ascend to new
heights of intellectual freedom.
When you break nature – the inertia
of the status quo - you create a new reality and are the narrator of
a novelty. YES, the world IS big enough to house new ideas! But If we
don't express our opinions - or at least voice an excerpt from our
stream of consciousness - we can feel insignificant and miss an
opportunity to gain wisdom by bouncing ideas off one another. If we
conform to “the norm” we can disregard, or worse, suppress our
individuality.
Granted, unity is important but if it is an excuse to
not think for oneself – to be lethargic and not have an opinion –
it is useless.
Opinions come from interpretation which
is the result of our individual life experiences. To voice a thought
or idea is the epitome of creating from uniqueness. It is our
brain-child that should be loved and cultivated to maturity. One day,
it can even be an influential game-changer in universal ideology, thus
continuing the saga of progressive thought in our dynamic human
existence.
Don't settle for second best. Think for
yourself and stick out from the rest.
