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Today's
Meditation:
When
I was younger, I thought that this was a truth that would
change as time went on. Surely, as we learn more about
what makes us happy and as we teach young people to think
for themselves, people will allow their individuality to
shine through more and will tolerate the individuality of
others more readily? Unfortunately, we didn't
understand then the breadth of the influence that mass
media--and the social media that followed them--would have
on our young people. It's rather frightening to see
just how timely Martin's words are today, even though they
were spoken more than fifty years ago.
But
I can only deal with my own life, so I can do my best to
make sure that I go about my life uncovering and letting
shine my individuality, my unique personality. In
order to do so, of course, I need to be sure that I don't
allow the reactions and opinions of the people around me to
influence me too strongly. If I speak my mind too
strongly and hurt someone, then I want someone to set me
straight. But if I simply speak my mind even though my
view is at odds with others, then I don't need to be
"corrected." If I want to wear green in a
room where everyone else is wearing black, then green it
is--unless, of course, I've signed a contract in which I
agree to wear black at the workplace.
The
"anesthetizing security" is a frightening concept
to consider. We do ourselves a huge disservice when we
allow ourselves to be numbed by the masses, when we suppress
our personality and individuality simply because we want to
"fit in." Fitting in is a dangerous goal to
shoot for, because then our actions and words are determined
by what we think other people want to see and hear, and our
own expression is suppressed.
We
can only truly get to know ourselves by being ourselves, and
learning from the mistakes that we make as ourselves.
If I make a mistake in a religious or political arena, then
I learn how to function best in that setting--I don't learn
about my own spirit or person. I can still be involved
in groups even as an individual, but it does take work to
maintain my uniqueness and the beauty and specialness that
it entails.
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