No one lives the way they want to
We're all obstructed by either the limits of physical reality or society, the latter being the one that takes a bigger emotional toll on people. When we're children we could make up what the world was like and our place in it. As you get older, you find that you can't just act differently, there are consequences to your actions, and that everyone and everything has a hand in determining your place. So we teach ourselves how to behave and to be favorable and not too different. How liberating could it be to break free from those chains and forget about everyone else? This feeling only seems to come momentarily for me.
On the other hand, we keep each other in check. Humans are notoriously short-sighted, and generally succeed better as a collective. I certainly have had much more success doing the things I want to do by, for example, having a family, having great friends, and going to college. Our ancestors probably couldn't have made it without strict cultural boundaries, but things have gone overboard for today's species of humans with well developed egos and the world at their fingertips. And while we reject things that are too different, we accept and silence the oddities and depths of ourselves for our entire lives. How do people survive like this? I'm young and I've learned to live my life without too much fear of judgement, and of course we all see people doing wildly cool, strange, or even vile things with their lives without a care for others, but what about the millions of people we're not seeing around the world who just file into place? Humans are blowing up into these super collectives, filling every corner of the world and mass producing the culture of the west, a doomed paradigm for a society. Will we have time to truly embrace and heal ourselves and others before we march double file to our collective end? Will the emotional toll of stuffing your true self deep inside move you up the social ladder or cripple you?
Find out next time on every 40 seconds someone is committing suicide, and 20 more are attempting.
I experience this fleetingly as well, but I am attempting to view this as a victory. In the past, it would have been mortifying to discredit everyone else; I had spent my whole life carefully building the different facets to face each person, to mirror them for approval. Now, I'm building a habit, rewiring my brain to not keep following the usual path, and every time I experience an additional break in the midst of my day, it's a definite win. This is also how I view moments of observing consciousness mindfully.
To your counterview in the second part, I think it is vital that we can collectively acknowledge just how much we rely on one another in the modern society (which I consider to be fantastic, when each individual maintains their freedom). An even more important acknowledgement following of "I am not special for having applied this collective knowledge". This is not say we should not be grateful for the opportunity to act, or have pride for what value we create, but to not believe others less for not. It can become easy to apply the more stoic viewpoint when there is challenge, but the practice shows most benefit when exercised in both extremes. Our collective wobbles back and forth, reveling in both directions of the swing, requiring greater amplitude to enjoy the same level of excitement.
If freedom is the phenomenon of expressing the self without overly offending, then liberation would be living without the fear of offending. Take that for what you will.
Humananity is an odd bunch. A species built on the exchange of genetic material from related, now extinct species (whom many of us still share part of our DNA), and often bridges the valley that is race and ethnicity in modern times, yet still, prejudices and stigmas for what is different abound. Entire cultures were built on that exchange, whether it was through peaceful trade and cultural exchange, or through conquest and other, more violent means. 200,000 years of walking the earth and discovering ourselves, and still, civility manages to elude us.
As a result, our physical reality is limited by our cultures, the religious and social ethics of our communities, and the stereotypes we cling to for lack of explanation. In turn, our personal ethics, and morality as a community, informs and influences culture, locking us in a cycle that ultimately limits expression and exploration of the self.
On a personal note, I believe only education can break the cycle.
Hello @factionless! This is a friendly reminder that you can download Partiko today and start earning Steem easier than ever before!
Partiko is a fast and beautiful mobile app for Steem. You can login using your Steem account, browse, post, comment and upvote easily on your phone!
You can even earn up to 3,000 Partiko Points per day, and easily convert them into Steem token!
Download Partiko now using the link below to receive 1000 Points as bonus right away!
https://partiko.app/referral/partiko
Congratulations @factionless! You received a personal award!
You can view your badges on your Steem Board and compare to others on the Steem Ranking
Vote for @Steemitboard as a witness to get one more award and increased upvotes!