Think back to when you were a child. The age when your parents took care of the rent, the bills and the food you ate. You had one job...and it was to navigate this thing we call life. Except for one thing...the most important things, the things that allowed you to concentrate on the minutiae of every teenage issue was being handled by adults that had no time for such inanities. While you had the freedom to feel the weight of peer pressure you'd often succumb to, your adult minders couldn't care less what anyone else thought of them as priority had drawn out their self-awareness into an efficient machine stripped of all unnecessary bullsh*t. Why? So they could better operate life...
This may not have been your experience with your parents and no, it isn't always the case exactly but there is always some variation of this found in every human that "grows up" and "grows out" of their childish needs and the phantom weight of it all. A perfect example of this is found when the adult finds the accuracy of world events or news beneficial to their everyday, the teenager they support relies on their inner circle for news. An inner circle that will most often than not, exert peer pressure to impress upon themselves the popular view as opposed to the accurate fact based one. God forbid they should display "wrong think" even though what they believe is easily provable nonsense that requires the ole fingers in the ears "la la la la" song and a 3rd grade level insult to get through a debate. Why is the teenager like this? It is our base level to want to be loved more than hated. To "feel" right before their peers than to BE and/or stand right alone. A base level we, through responsibility are meant to grow out of. The main issue? They don't NEED to be any other way. In other words...they don't NEED to "grow up" yet. All their needs are met as they should be and all this angst and wrongheadedness we all go through is a necessary phase that is part of life. In time, we learn to let go of the teenagers weight we come to find no longer has any hold on us as adults. We learn that "he said, she said" means very little. We learn how to let go of excess baggage. We learn how to judge the news accordingly, using independent research, reason, facts and logic as opposed to relying on the ideological friend or news anchor...or even the conspiracy theorist. We learn how to pick our battles and how to treat others as you would want to be treated irrespective of their thought process or station in life. Now I can excuse the teenager...but you adults out there...what's your f*ckin excuse?
There are adults out here that have most things handled. Whether it is by wealth or government help...they have very little to care about and tend to regress into some form of bubble folk. Bubble folk that pick up every trend and silly idea that comes down the insanity pike called manufactured "virtue". A manufactured virtue created by the "powers that be" that is meant to corral you into one group or another whose actions can be controlled easily by rage or indignation fueled by narrative alone. Accepting anything to make themselves look righteous in front of their peers (sound familiar?) and/or bubble. Many wealthy folk are no different except that existing with these types up close revealed for me an added feature: the assh*lic nature hidden behind their money. It seems that folk without an exorbitant amount of wealth understand that the social ladders they, by necessity must frequent will require of them some level of decency towards their fellow man whereas the wealthy will eventually come to believe they are the only ones on their ladder as they can always retreat someplace secluded enough to not ever have to frequent anyone. Being an assh*le is easy when you think you'll never have to see who you were an assh*le to ever again. You want to know who is genuinely decent? Watch how they treat people that can do nothing for them...or ever will. As an aside...this is also true for those "beautiful people" that find themselves in demand. Money, looks and fame...powerful "commodities" that can have the same ill effect if not kept in check. Interesting right?
Why do I mention all this? As a warning...a warning to those that may come into some money. Above all things, do not forget who you are and all you've learned through trial and error. After all your needs are met, your mind will find room to meander and you may even find yourself feeling the weight of little things as you once did as a teenager. Your free time will no doubt want to regress into social media but not as the measured adult you are. You may find some pet project that will require or be assisted by an inner circle that can even turn into a new peer pressure group demanding you tow their line of thought. Am I being drastic or too dramatic? Not in the slightest. Any or all of this can happen in the blink of an eye and you can become just like anyone else in line...losing who you are in the process. Losing the freedom you fought so hard to attain. Yes I said "freedom". To grow free and clear into who you were meant to be is the epitome of freedom. There is no one size fits all when it comes to who you will become but there is always a boxed type for those who refuse to move forward at all as though that was some type of flex. Don't let this happen to you. Keep your head and heart where they belong. Keep growing as a human being and refuse any thought to regress for any reason. I write this down now not just for you all...but as an earnest reminder for me as well...I'm out.
~moses apollo
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