Monday, January 14, 2013

Be About Being the Thing That You Are


There was a time in my life that I desired to be completely original. As time went along, I realized the futility of that in a world of 7 billion people, plus everyone else that preceded us. There's always someone that is doing the same things you are doing and thinking the same thoughts that you are. Of course, in that realization, there is comfort to be found in identifying kindred spirits and feeling understood.

Despite the fact that originality is an illusion, it is useful to seek self-knowledge. It is a given that you will belong to some group or some community. Without careful consideration to your own identity, it is easy to be swept up in the habits and behaviors that are dominant in the moment and place you live. Just as if you close your eyes and walk through a field of snow, you find that your footsteps soon fall in line with the path already trodden by others, it is the way of least resistance. Later, you open your eyes and realize that you have spent considerable life energy seeking things that you don't really want.

Don't waste your time, keep your eyes open, walk with intention on a path that suits you, and be about being the thing that you are. Find the others like you who are doing those things, learn from them, and be bolstered in the dedication you have to your path. That way, when you are bombarded with marketing related to all the lives that others want you to seek for their own profit, you will not feel like you are lacking something, but can say boldly, "That is not for me. I am choosing to do something else."

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