A good friend of mine suggested that I write about ten new things that have happened in my life. I will oblige soon but, firstly, I will talk about an entirely new outlook on life and living that I want to adopt. Provided the world doesn’t end in 2012, I hope this year will be one that marks a significant turn for me.
I had previously thought that my life would be perfect if it took the form of what was deemed ‘successful’. As a child, I had the naive conviction that I will grow up to be a wealthy, religious, accomplished man. Luckily, the past few years have helped me abandon this endeavour and seek, instead, to simply be happy.
It was an important realisation: my life is my very own storyline and not a canvas which others paint on their ideals and values. Anything else and I’ll be doomed to mediocrity and banality. This is despite incessant reminders I see everywhere that being alternative is cause for concern. Contemplating new ideas and ways of life is tantamount to swimming in shark-infested waters and is best avoided. But I think that’s a very boring way of living. If I were to live solely to live up to people’s admittedly-low expectations, it will be a life wasted, a life not lived. As Roger Greenberg said, “Life is wasted on people.” Of course, not all life and, indeed, not all people.
A lot of folk I know will read this (or not - I’ve only got 5 followers) and think I have gone wayward. I anticipate a mixture of reactions: sneer, surprise, camaraderie and most probably indifference. Nevertheless, I will have published it and put it out for the world to see. To me, that’s what matters most.
I had previously thought that my life would be perfect if it took the form of what was deemed ‘successful’. As a child, I had the naive conviction that I will grow up to be a wealthy, religious, accomplished man. Luckily, the past few years have helped me abandon this endeavour and seek, instead, to simply be happy.
It was an important realisation: my life is my very own storyline and not a canvas which others paint on their ideals and values. Anything else and I’ll be doomed to mediocrity and banality. This is despite incessant reminders I see everywhere that being alternative is cause for concern. Contemplating new ideas and ways of life is tantamount to swimming in shark-infested waters and is best avoided. But I think that’s a very boring way of living. If I were to live solely to live up to people’s admittedly-low expectations, it will be a life wasted, a life not lived. As Roger Greenberg said, “Life is wasted on people.” Of course, not all life and, indeed, not all people.
A lot of folk I know will read this (or not - I’ve only got 5 followers) and think I have gone wayward. I anticipate a mixture of reactions: sneer, surprise, camaraderie and most probably indifference. Nevertheless, I will have published it and put it out for the world to see. To me, that’s what matters most.
