Slaves To Society

“Human tragedies: We all want to be extraordinary
and we all just want to fit in. Unfortunately, extraordinary people rarely fit in.” 
― Sebastyne Young

I've always felt like a hexagonal puzzle piece trying to be forced into a square shaped gap. Basically,  Its just not going to happen - as hard as society can try. The things is, I don't have an issue with being a hexagon. I embrace being different and having contrasting dreams and aspirations to others around me. I don't mind standing out from the crowd if it means I get to be my true self, but Ive grown to realise that western society happens to have a slight issue with this. There isn't much room for us to roam here or much of a feeling of acceptance for the 'weird' or wildly spirited. Im talking about the outcasts, the rogues, the explorers, the creatives, the eccentrics or the complexly deep soul searchers. You know the ones I'm talking about - the avoiders of conformity whom get tarred with the 'crazy' brush or made to feel like outsiders just because they don't fit into this straight jacket mould that has been created. The ones whom want their lives to be far from mundane or dictated to them. 

I was born on this earth, yet sometimes I feel like an alien here. Like a bird trying to be caged by society. In a world full of influencers telling you to ' BE YOU' but then still following the crowd and conforming, its hard not to feel slightly confused or lost. I feel disheartened  at the fact that so many of us are told to follow our dreams but when it actually comes to doing what is required to achieve that .. e.g. break away from the crowd,  take a leap of faith into the unknown.. etc, we start to get talked out of it because it may not be a 'secure' path to follow or a 'safe bet', therefore, it could 'fail' and I believe we all want to avoid that. In our minds we are all scared in some way of messing up our lives, our egos like control and by choosing the road less travelled, it becomes unpredictable to know what will happen next. Which, I personally don't think to be a bad thing at all. Once we take that leap, I believe this is where the fun starts. Our lives start to blossom and we begin to attract the things we have been endlessly thinking about. But it can certainly be a scary thing to do, to put all our faith in ourselves and go out into the world in attempt to manifest the life of our dreams, however crazy or unrealistic it may seem. 

When I talk about my desire for freedom, to be close to nature, to explore the world in any crazy way possible, to not be tied down to responsibilities, especially whilst I'm young - Im shocked by the amount of times I'm made to feel like its unrealistic to break away from society... "why would you leave what you have?" "How will you make enough money?" people ask, "its not a stable lifestyle" they say. Maybe I'm being naive but I don't want these things to dictate my life choices. But these sort of comments creep up on me and start to fill my head with doubts which then hold me back from following some of the things I desire, even when I try my hardest not to let them. They are in the back of my mind telling me I'm going to fail if I make a big change or venture out into the world to explore and find my own truths because I'm being judged by a society whom has already been told a version of the truth that they are choosing to believe, possibly without really searching any deeper for their own. 

“There is freedom waiting for you, On the breezes of the sky,
And you ask "What if I fall?" Oh but my darling, What if you fly?” 
― Erin Hanson 

There is so much fear here, so much need for control and a ridiculous amount of pressure put onto us from such a young age to eradicate any kind of uncertainty. We are made to feel like we should have a secure life plan and if we don't, then their is something wrong with us. We are taught how to behave, how we should speak to others, how we should dress, how and when we should eat. We are made well aware of a traditional path in life in which people go to uni, get a well paid job and work their way up in the world, find a partner and get married, buy a house, have kids and settle down, retire and then die. Can we all just take a moment to stop and question all this? Do we really want to live in a world where we judge peoples success and the amount of respect we give to them based on their material worth? Do we really want to spend our whole lives slaving away doing the same thing day in day out, for material things and miss out on seeing what else their is out there on this beautiful earth we are blessed to be on? This kind of lifestyle may make some people happy but it's not for everyone - it's not for me, it has never been my cup of tea and that is ok. We are all different. I know that there is more out there than this, in which I want to explore. I know that you can't have everything in life set to a time schedule or have everything figured out because not everything is going to go to plan and nobody has all the answers.
So, when I start to worry or put pressure on myself  to know whats going on in my life or what my next move is - I stop and think... why not embrace the uncertain? welcome it with open arms because its full of amazing opportunities. We can do anything with our time, so why not think out of the box? What would happen if you began to break your routines and habits? What would happen if you left your current lifestyle and went to travel the world? If you worked a little less but made more time to follow your passions? Or ended the relationship that you are clinging onto even though you know its not working and embrace the unknown of being single to make room for something better to come? Even with the small things, like not wearing shoes if we want to feel the earth we are walking on or licking our plates clean if we enjoyed the food or singing and dancing in front of strangers on the underground rather than sitting in silence. Just anything that we feel we wish to do rather than what we are told to do to fit in, who cares if people think you are weird - at least you are being you, as the individual that you are.

Don't let anyone make you feel like you are crazy just because you are different or have different views on life. Don't let people tell you can't follow your dreams (Slightly cringeworthy to say, but its true). Don't let fear control your decisions. You'll be surprised how things begin to work in your favour when you put a little faith in the universe and in your own self to recognise when its time to make a change. 'Fortune favours the brave' as they say. Don't feel like you have to make yourself a square to fit into the puzzle gap, embrace your difference, be a hexagon.

“Nature loves courage. You make the commitment and nature will respond to that commitment by removing impossible obstacles. Dream the impossible dream and the world will not grind you under, it will lift you up. This is the trick. This is what all these teachers and philosophers who really counted, who really touched the alchemical gold, this is what they understood. This is the shamanic dance in the waterfall. This is how magic is done. By hurling yourself into the abyss and discovering it's a feather bed.” 

― Terence McKenna