Hey all. Sorry for the wait...I have been taking a lot of flak for it but there is a reason. I wanted to explore the subjects I wanted to talk about and break them down with logic, reason, and a degree of truth and thats not done over night...heck I'm not even near done yet but I believe I finally have a good starting point. That starting point is individualism.
Our nation loves the idea of the individual. Self releance and independence (at a personal level) has for years been the ideal in out nation. This raises questions. The first question that came to mind was "Am I self releant? am I independent?" Ask your self this question. So whats the answer? yes or no? My personal answer was "No". My current jobless state and living with my parents was the reason I said no. I suddenly felt very small, so to make up for it I decleared to myself I was once. I reflected on that time and realized that I never have been truly independent. Nor have you. We are all extermely dependent. From those living on the streets to the Bill Gates of the world not one of us is truly independent.
Either you've already picked up on what I'm saying or you think I'm nuts and are currently thinking of how to list out all the things that make you independent and self releant to prove me wrong. If you are the second case. Stop for one second and hear me out. Look down at your shirt. I have one of my favorites on its black with white and red Kanji that says I like Sake. But thats not important right now. Ask yourself how did this shirt end up on you. If it's cotton it had to have been grown, loomed, colored, made, shipped, put on display, and sold to you. Look at all your cloths its all the same. You completely rely on at least 4 to 5 people every peice of clothing you own. One of my new favorites was I remember saying I was independent at 16 when I got my drivers license. But its the same with the shirt...I relied on all the people that made my car, the roads, the gas stations, the manufacture of gasoline etc. Everything you have you have because of someone else made it. Your house if you didn't build it yourself (cuting down the wood, making the copper for pipes, making the wires for electric etc) someone else at least helped. But you paid the money, which you got from your boss who got it from customers...our entire economic system depends on no one being truely self releant.
Actually seeing this for the way it is, made me very defensive at first.I went on for a week or so in a horrible mood but it slowly got better and over time I decided that, ok independence in a pyhsical sense isn't truely possible. But mentally it is. I have my own thoughts my own ideas, my own emotions when it comes to these things I am completely independent. Then something happened a real good friend of mine had a loss. Compassion took over and my heart went out to him. My feelings my emotions turned on a dime due to an external force. It made me return to this subject cause I was clearly wrong. My own emotions didn't depend just on me. I thought about how I felt for the Japanese people in the last few weeks after that earthquake and tsunami. I reflected on all the people I've seen (and heard of) suffer and how it made me feel. Without my choice without my permission I felt for them all. And when I lost my Meme, my Pepe, Mrs. C, my great Grandma all the people I cared for and lost what was it that made me feel better? Others. When ever I loved it wasn't fully due to me. When even I felt anything a large part was due to me but there was always some kind of external force.
So if I was so wrong about my feeling my emotions, could I be wrong about my thoughts? Hell yea.lol. It didn't take me long to see though my thoughts are my own they come from my education. The basis of my thoughts is what others have taught me and how I've interperted those lessons. As with anyone else.
So therefore we are all interconnected. So what does this mean for us? Well I think it means a few things. Even though we are interconnected like this we attempt to be an individual we think of ourselfs, and we close ourselfs off from others with some ease. No wonder we have widespread depression. We find that "one special person" and try and put it all on them and if we don't have that one special person trust me everyone pushes and prods you to find that person. Is that a good idea, to be emotionally and mentally dependent on only one? I don't think so...but this subject I need a little more time with so it will be fully addressed in my next post.
Again I would like to hear your thoughts an opinions on this subject. And as a parting suggestion when every you handle something or buy something or eat something just give a quick thought of the mysterious others that had a hand in it. It made me feel a little more connected and happy for the week or two that I've been doing this. So give it a try...let me know how it goes for ya.
Ugh. I tried to post but the damn thing didn't take let me try to sum up what i said. We may be all interconnected but we are also all individuals with certain personality traits to things we like to do. Even if you had two identical people they wouldn't be the same as the grew older since external forces would make them different. Therefore when your friends with a person (let's call him bob) And bob moves away your affected because no one can replace that person Bob and you have had years of growing up together and you have similar interests nothing could replace him. Some people may be similar in a lot of ways but no one person is exactly like another and that is the individual.
ReplyDeleteYes you are correct we are all individuals, and that should never change. But, if you think about it, we are more than that. I am more than the sum of myself. We are all part of something bigger. I'm using the word individual in a slightly different context as you are and there is a reason why.
ReplyDeleteThe context I'm shooting for by using the term individual is as the philosophy of Individualism. In which all persons are to be self releant and for the most part seperated from others. Our society is heavely based in Individualism. An "I, me, mine" philosophy really, if you will. I'm not advocating the loss of the self, just a little more inclusion of others. A middle ground between Individualism and Collectivism. This will be more apparent as my blogs go on.