January 9
  
  
  You were born
an original.
Don't die a copy.

John Mason

  

Today's Meditation:

I love the first five words of John's statement.  "You were born an original."  Nothing could be more true--each of us was born a completely unique human being, with our own thoughts, feelings, looks, ideas, abilities, tastes, desires, hopes, interests. . . it's a very long list of qualities that are completely unique to us.  Somewhere along the line, though, it becomes attractive to us to "borrow" tastes from others, to "borrow" interests and ideas--even looks and feelings and thoughts, too.

One of the main problems behind our current political crises is that people want others to believe just as they do, to judge exactly as they do, and so we have masses of people who are claiming to believe the exact same things, even though the chances of that are pretty slim, indeed.  As a high school teacher, I watch the process begin as kids adopt (or reject) their parents' belief systems without ever questioning whether or not they truly believe or don't believe the ideas and ideals that they're espousing or casting away.

We can recognize many people who are becoming or who have become copies by the clothes that they wear.  When we hear certain words, we know that a person is simply repeating what he or she heard from someone else.

It's important that we encourage people to sincerely search out and trust their own uniqueness--starting with ourselves.  Do I buy something or say something because I think that people will like me more or accept me more if I buy it or say it?  If so, then I'm on the road to being a copy, for I'm not honoring my own tastes.  Of course, the marketers want me to be a copy since they'll make more money from me that way, but I'm not on this planet to please the marketers, am I?

You are an original--one of a kind.  Simply and truly.  Live in accordance with that truth, and you'll create a value in this world that is without compare.

Questions to consider:

What are some of the forces at work that want us to act more like copies than like originals?

What does it mean to you to be an original?  Do you actively try to live up to that meaning, to let it guide you with your decisions? 

What will happen if we do "die a copy"?  What would we have lost in the process of becoming that copy?

For further thought:

Be yourself and think for yourself; and while your conclusions may not be infallible, they will be nearer right than the conclusions forced upon you.

Elbert Hubbard

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