Feeling Small Among One's Number
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I am an individual living among another seven and a half billion people upon this planet.
What is it about me that is special enough to justify my continued existence?
As our number in population creeps ever steadily upward, is my own worth not therefore ever diminished within an ocean of humans - individuals just like myself?
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Would it take any longer than a second following my demise for a newborn child to cry and gasp its first lungfuls of ever less pristine air?
And even if I still managed to be special - to have 'potential' - to what end would that be if I were to simply conform to the strictures of a society that would have me work most days of my life to serve what at best might be somebody else's dream?
Nobody ever gives you a pat on the back for all the potential that you had to offer.
No. They instead tell you to roll up your sleeves and get working.
Because work is life and life is work and a life without work is a life unproductive.
Or so they might have you believe.
It is a sensation similar to drowning.
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Even as the lungs continue to breathe you sense the World closing in around you.
Beyond, the hounds of purpose bark accusations.
"You are not rich enough!"
"You are not man enough!"
"You are not smart enough!"
"You are not popular enough!"
"You are not practical enough!"
"You are not connected enough!"
Chorus: "You are not enough!"
The pointy fingers and the stares dissipate...
...and then the icy feeling of neglect as the World moves on, leaving you behind.
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Not to worry though.
I have not given up.
Nor should you.
Nor am I in any trouble.
I just am left wondering.
Perhaps I am merely a puzzle piece left out of place?
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It does seem that I am in a bit of a rut - trapped within a cage of negative emotions.
I will allow a few more of these thoughts to seep through into my writings - perhaps the venting will do me good - but I need to turn my perspective around to more positive topics.
Do you have any feedback or comments about what you would have liked to have seen more of or perhaps even less of? Perhaps about other matters? I look forward to your comments down below.
Also, if you found this post interesting and would like to share this with your followers and friends then a resteem is always appreciated.
Sincerely,
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Thanks to @ecoinstant, this post was resteemed and highlighted in today's edition of The Daily Sneak.
Thank you for your efforts to create quality content.
Well then: I found this very deep and profound to absorb over lunch lol. I had to read it a couple of times. I have to agree with the strictures of society having the potential to hold a person back from achieving their goals/dreams/utopia. But I am but a simple one - I love what I do and that includes my job (nursing), so don't fit the mold.
I do believe you have focused a bit on the negative here, but you are very eloquent in doing so and have given me good food for thought. Thank you!
Thank you, @mysecondself01, both for your vote as well as your great comment. :c)
Loving what you do is an important alignment of fortunes that any person in life should strive to aim for. To walk that line between doing what one wishes and doing that which is desired of oneself.
It is my hope to break out of the introspection today. We shall see. :cP
Thanks again!
I won't re-steem yet. But I agree. You are 100% a thinker. Critical thinkers these days are 1 out of 100 people and critical thinking is not taught in school at the demise of the human race.
I appreciate without any obvious gain or benefit.. you think.. you question.. and re-evaluate your previous stance on subjects because you are open minded and ready.
Nice to meet you... :)
History teaches us to appreciate our fore-fathers.. people who were specially minded and fore-thought individuals back then. There is nothing said about special people today that could exist today. I think you are one of them. Treasure it and exercise it.
P.S. I wrote this and the dull storm started up again angry. Obviously I shouldn't have said what I did, because it caused it again.
Thank you, @intelliguy, both for your vote and a comment that made my day!
A very high compliment you have paid me. It is nice to meet you also. :c)
Your poignant point on the apparent inconsistency between the appreciation of our fore-fathers and our general lack of such today drives the nail home, but to be fair, times were never easy for thinkers. Especially so for those who were outliers in their field.
Things have gotten worse. I truly doubt that Einstein, Mozart or Leonardo Da Vinci would have gotten the kind of following today that they appreciate because they are long since dead. In fact we practice this morbid brand of appreciation whenever artists die. Their assets become more desirable - as do their works. Its almost as if its OK to appreciate them 'because' they are dead.
'shrugs' Yes it does discourage but what truly frustrates is that there always exist chasms between what one sees and what one can achieve, alone - while witnessing the World and its peoples being parceled off to sycophants and false prophets and messiahs.
Of course I need to keep a lid on my bitterness as I know that I am far from alone in these feelings - and they are not conducive to producing my best works.
Thank you again - and I look forward to feeling the tide shift. :c)
Here's how I (try to) get over it: I Add Value.
How can I be sure that my life is meaningful? By adding value.
How can make sure that a job is aligned to make a difference? By making sure it adds value.
How can I avoid as much as possible time(life) wasting activities? By eliminating those that do not add value!
This strategy has a prerequisite, you must define value for yourself, ie get yourself some values. Money is not necesarily value!
Thank you @ecoinstant, both for your up-vote as well as your helpful comment. :c)
I needed a little time to get back into the right frame of mind to give a decent response.
You are absolutely right. Adding value is 'the' way forward. :c)
I admit that I sometimes find difficulty determining the value being added. It is something that I will need to think about. In truth, money for me is a means towards an end - including things that could 'add value'.
Thanks again. :c)