Dear Diary,
What if the solution to the challenges of life simply lie in embracing our journey?
Imagine that you are in a world where no one is watching, no one is talking – just you! Would you still make the choices you made, would you be living the same life you are living? If we answer yes to this, then we are alive. If our answer is no, then we may need to rethink our choices.
Society has defined what it means to be successful – and we unconsciously live our lives based on these pre-determined standards. I find that this could be seen as the greatest tragedy in our world today. Many people have no personal identity as important life choices like – who to marry, what career path to pursue, or where to live are largely influenced by societal opinions. It appears we simply make choices to fit in!
I too am guilty of this – I cannot count the number of times I have made decisions unconsciously based on the expectations of others. But I have also, at different points in my life, made conscious efforts to take decisions based on my personal convictions. Indeed, all of us have.
Not living our lives to conform also means that we are embracing our paths. And there is a lot to gain when we decide to own our story. Every person’s life is unique. It has something to teach not only themselves, but the world. That is God’s plan! So it is important to own our stories.
To begin with, it is important to keep account of our experiences in life. Pay attention to detail and more importantly embrace it. Don’t try to make it look like what it is not. What it is, is what the creator intended it to be. Don’t wish to be someone else, or be in in someone else’s position. We all have different paths – and in the Lord’s eyes, there is no good or bad path. The path God wants you to journey has a part to play in fulfilling purpose.
By this, I do not imply that we should not pause to make adjustments when there is the need. We ought to – but we ought not to force it. When things aren’t working the way we want, we should do the best that we can to make it better. Meanwhile, there is so much peace in embracing what we cannot change!
I was wondering, is making choices have connection with rules? Inextricably, choices are rules and by essence, do I need rules if I were the only person in the world? In fact standards will be meaningless, and choices will be a living rather than existence. By extrapolation, if I were the only one in the world, choices will be a metaphysics and might not even have existed. A good read though! I enjoyed it.
Hi Ben,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I think we are saying the same thing.The point is that we do not have to always conform to ‘standards’. At least not in a way that allows them to influence a greater part of our personal journeys. And thank you for this profound statement – I agree that indeed choices are rules. And if we make independent choices, then we can render the so-called predetermined standards powerless.