The easiest way for most people is leading their lives through norms. A
lot of things are said to be ok because they have been done and worked fine. We
have cultures, sub-cultures and various groups practicing similar activities
which we believe they are the orders of life and 'how' life has to be. It is a
scary tall order, almost impossible to change because of the 'best practice'
tag on it.
I try to look at life from a million possible angles, through different
emotions and without any draw-backs. If anything I find us trying to re-invent
everything that has been exhausted by merely polishing the little there is
around us. What happened to innovation and freedom of expression? Scary aren't
they?
I recently had a lengthy conversation about diversity, reality and feminism, sexuality
with one of my older friends. Let me paint this picture for you. He is 41, a
believer in God but doesn't go to church, with a wife, three beautiful kids, a
middle class citizen who hopes one day he will be a millionaire. I know
everything is possible, but I believe you have to brush against your dreams by
exploring every possible option. He has this assumption that people tend to do
all the wrong things in this world because they are desperate and have to
survive. He later contradicted himself with a bold statement that accused the
system of failing the people and encouraging them to relax is falsified comfort
zones. Do you see the things I go through? I put myself through the torture of
listening to conversations I disapprove of, about 95% of my life. Maybe I get a
kick out of freaking people out with my thoughts and realities.
The point I'm trying to address here is the limitless possibilities we always
preach about and the lengths we are willing to go to transform these into our
resources. Ironically I saw a HUGE billboard the other day promoting Jeep,
their tag line is a fierce "Live without limits". The first reaction
I had was to roll my eyes.
There are many people I have met through this trip of trying to throw my brand
in everyone's faces. Some of them are extremely liberal although I think they
present chameleon personalities most of the time. Many people, especially the
'evolved' South African citizens have multiple personalities to suit different
societies and structures that feed them at a particular point. Are we lingering
spirits?
The fear of the unknown has become red-tape around our lifestyles, truism and
self-identity. How sad is that? I stared at the TV for an hour that felt like a
week when Noeleen and her guests discussed feminism. We are still a few
generations from being a civil nation. Our sheepish attitudes towards each
other will always affect our growth, resilience and any prospective social
development. This is merely because we have crazy expectations set for each other,
of which no one really lives up to them. I can tell you today individuals are
written off as outcasts or weirdos.
For over two decades I have been working on investing in my emotions,
intellect, personality and my shadows to be able to define the 'me' that I
present today. There are so many different things and this is the life I know.
It makes it easy for me. I believe growth is better cultivated when you are
comfortable in your skin and become confident to compliment yourself. Being
adept at multi-tasking becomes a bonus as long as you are the last person you
lie to.
