As a precaution...this is one of the moments when I just want to write free-spiritedly, without being too guarded of my thoughts or without a real structure...just me.
I seem to be caught between two opinions and I know I can't stay here too long. On the one hand, there's this opportunity that speaks to what tradition says is acceptable and conducive to the "norm." This has its advantages. You don't have to stand out much, you can blend in with the rest, taste the same challenges, and you know what to look forward to because you've seen it down through the years. You don't have to worry much about being the source of every one's controversy. It's the promise of formalism!
You can probably tell I'm being a bit sarcastic. In my previous blog I preached about how one who is "called out" has to make a lot of decisions not necessarily based on what they may or may not like, but based on who and how it will affect others. Herein lies the other side where you settle for form and fashion because you want to avoid the backlash of your peers and counterparts. But inside you appreciate distinction.
You can only ignore yourself for so long. A happy medium seems to be what is missing. Believe it or not, there are actually some people in the world where the words "Do what makes you happy" is not easy for them. In fact, it goes in one ear and flies out the other. They are consumed with apprehension of what their next move will do to their neighbor, if their neighbor will still accept them if they go against their expectations, and do what in fact, they believe is the better choice for them, or what simply makes them...different! You try to blend in, but at the same time try to stand out. What a war.
There are people like this in the world...I think. Or maybe it's just me?
I fear that 30 or 40 years will have come and gone and I will have only lived the bulk of them trying to please others, and still only doing a so-so job. I can do a much better job at just being me..the me God intended me to be; not the me that others hold a leash on me to be.
L8r:
~faithful
9 comments:
wow. i really like this one.
No it is not just you! Great blog that would really be a great subject for a group discussion that includes several generations. So many people get caught up in tradition that others are seen as rebels when we go against the grain so to speak. We can't always do what makes us happy but we sure can do what doesn't make us miserable (which we sometimes do we we dedicate our actions to what others think we should!) Traditions are supposed to give us history and a foundation for which to grow and build a better quality of life making not only our ancestors proud, but God. If the Good Lord sees fit to forgive us when we exercise free will that is not according to His will, then we should be able to tolerate each other adding a little spice on tradition! We are not designed to be just like our parents, but to take some of their attributes, values, and ethics and enhance them so we can excel! We are all individuals in case some people forgot! We are not the same, we should not be treated the same, and we do not behave the same. We should behave with the sense God gave us, we can't be all willy-nilly! but even that is up to us! Is being all willy-nilly within reason the norm? What is the norm? Think about it, even when we see something that is totally out of this world, we say, that is not normal, with a laugh or a chuckle! Hey I guess we are in similar moods!
And another thing! I am celebrating me wthin the norm!
And another thing! How do you explain or even contribute to progress if you continue to do the same thing the same way some else does?
And another thing! just playing!!!!
LOLOL. thanks NKM, that was encouraging.
thanks E!
I battled with the same issues in my late 20s. I was unhappy and always trying to please others. In my 30s, I am more confident in who I am, have come to appreciate my strengths and who God created me to be. That being sad, it was in my 30s that I decided to unleash from the leash and run into the person God created and intended for me to be - "Me". I am happy that I chose to be ME, defects and all... If God wanted me to be anything else, He would have either made me that way or took me another route... But, he chose to create "ME" and there is only ONE "ME". So, I chose to be the BEST "ME", defects and all, and become the person God intended for ME to be. The decision is not hard... Just be your BEST YOU and allow God to make YOU better! :)
LOVE IT CG! THANKS!
Yes. If I'm not mistaken, almost everyone will enter this stage (I surely did) where it appears we are more into what others have to say about us ... than our own inner being.
If one is lucky, he or she will realize that it's human to be self-conscious but it's "living" to be in charge of your own decisions.
Enjoyed the read, Faithe.
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