In this day and age, no one seems to be drawing the line between what is and what ought to be. Or maybe I should say too many are re-drawing that line or trying to ignore it. Day by day, many spend their time trying to understand what is in order to fit in without standing out. It seems that challenging the status quo is criminal and so though many sense that something about the reality does not “quite sit right,” it’s better ignored. Thus life goes on, and “because everybody is doing it” has become the acceptable reason why nobody is doing or should do something about it.
The few who go past the “because everyone is doing it” curse stay at the “I was raised this way” junction. The backgrounds from which we should learn valuable life lessons have become solid excuses for going with the flow. It is amazing how many people expect to be treated and perceived in a particular way simply because “that is how I was raised” or “I grew up doing this or that.” Thus life continues with little thought being given to the numerous other options open to us because we are satisfied with how it has always been done.
A few feet from this bunch, we meet the “I am no good” family. Somehow they think they have managed to break free from the entrapments of their past but for some reason they can’t get past the “I am no good” line. Any efforts they put in are aimed at finding fresh new evidence that confirms the fact that they are no good. And so they carry with them a portfolio full of the things that failed to happen or change because they were no good on one side and the things they should not attempt as a subsequence on the other side. Thus they only exist to see what others can do.
Then some others go a step past the “I was raised this way” and the “I am no good” barriers but get stuck on the “been there, done that” lane. Oh the zeal with which we set out after the realization that we should actually be doing something “different.” We make new plans, draw up schedules and get to work implementing the concepts we have in mind. Yet blinded by the same zeal that moves us forward, we fail to open our minds to other possibilities. Very quickly we throw in the towel as soon as we come up against a wall. “I tried,” we convince ourselves.
And then there is a separate group that is not trapped by any of the scenarios described earlier. They are what I call the “in the near future” bunch. They know better than to leave things the way they are or to underestimate themselves or to get trapped by the way they were raised or to get stuck on the “been there, done that” lane. They are here to bring change … but just not yet. So they wait and wait for the “perfect” time to make their move. Only problem is, some have actually grown grey hair waiting for the “perfect” moment when everything is just right.
So what we end up with is a bunch of bench warmers with different justifications for their spectatorship. Thus we miss the glory of diversity the creator intended because we allow things that were designed to be motivators to become excuses. And yeah, at this point the “I am not like that” bunch shows up on the same bench deceiving and being deceived. Quick to identify the “issues” of others, yet totally blind to theirs. Unknowingly to all the camps, kids are being raised to believe the same half truths and deceptions and yet we wonder where the world is headed.
The reason you are still here is that there is a unique contribution you should be making to your life, your community and your world. Contrary to shared impressions, time is of the essence and every moment should count. If anything is valid enough to be an excuse, it is strong enough to be a motivation. The question is what emotions you will permit that reality to unlock in you. Yeah, none of those can be unlocked without your permission. The choice of either prisoner or liberator is your to make and in choosing to liberate yourself, you unknowingly liberate others.
Journey with Della 