Thinking of a title to this piece, I all of a sudden remembered the line from my all time favorite show and movie..."Highlander". If you haven't seen it, you're missing out on something great but this isn't a piece about immortals hacking off each others heads for the grand prize. No, but that would be cool...
No, my beautiful people. This piece is about how there can be only one "you". That's right...only "one". Many consider themselves unique simply because their uniqueness has gone unmatched in their safe little worlds. Travel outside your comfort zone a little and test that theory in earnest. You'll get to find out just how unique you really are. Are you a conglomerated set of imitations? Or have your influences in life been simple seeds that you allowed to blossom into something all your own? The difference, like all things is measured in honest intent. There was a time in my youth that I mimicked great men. Their mannerisms and speech. All because I believed that if I acted like them and looked like them, I would wear the same greatness. Shit, was I wrong. I found myself falling short when what actually made them great was expected of me and I could not deliver. I had to find out the hard way for myself that the bottom line behind uniqueness is not in seeking to be different. It is in simply seeking to be a better you with as much truth and sincerity that you could ever muster within yourself. I stopped wanting to be able to speak like so-and-so or look like so-and-so but instead found myself drawn to the mirror looking for weak areas that I could work on. Some I could change, others I could only temper through a change in perspective. Yet. as I worked on those areas, they became a conglomerate of both strength and weakness that no one could attribute to anyone else. By the time I knew it, I was now beginning to see others imitate me. Flattered? Yes, but a futility for anyone to pursue. Not because my level is so high but because my edifice is built by an honesty and truth that is all my own. That's my blood, my sweat and my tears that built the building capable of writing and living out these words.
Yet so many are unwilling to look for any greatness within themselves. One, for fear of finding nothing and two, for fear of losing all they've accumulated through acclimated imitation. You want to find your greatness? Your true unique identity? Don't be afraid to lose anything...including all you've been accustomed to being. Some people get so comfortable living a lie that it becomes their truth. I've seen so many so-called "non-conformists" look, talk and act like every other "non-conformist" standing beside them. An oxymoron to say the least. Peer pressure says "You have to be like us to fit in" but fitting in will never allow you to stand out. I have spoken to so many so-called "non-conformists" and knew what they were going to say before they said it. Why? They all read the same fucking manual.
I'm not asking you to be like me nor will I ever do such a thing because I know you can't but everyone has to start their journey somewhere. All I can ever do is bring you to the starting line. It's up to you to do the rest because if I journeyed with you, you would come out with my ideas, my look and my regimen but what you'd be lacking was my heart...that's mine folks. You must find your own.
Understand this: True uniqueness seeks no one's approval or disapproval. True uniqueness is not dependant on who enters or leaves the room. True uniqueness draws people of all stripes because it chooses to stay the same engendering a trust in the people it draws. They know you're real and won't change for anyone. Yet most importantly, true uniqueness is humble enough to allow for self-correction because without this one important element, you are proclaiming yourself one that is not in need of any correction. With nothing to correct, there is nothing to change. So I encourage you seekers out there. Start your journey and become what you were truly meant to be. I may have started mine some time ago but guess what? I haven't reached my finish line yet...I'm out
~Moses
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