So much noise surrounds us in this day and age. We’re submerged in a bustling buzzing world of electronic devices, virtual identities, and an abundance of attention-grabbing entertainment.
In all of that dizzying torrent of influences, we get to focus on everybody and everything except the one and only thing that matters—ourselves.
The world used to be much much slower, you were once able to measure the speed of your thoughts and perhaps read them in the air above your head if you sit and look at the skies while daydreaming, but most of us do not have such a luxury anymore.
Leading a meaningful existence is a thought almost too ridiculous to entertain. Finding your life’s purpose and that single strand of creativity that you can pull and unwind towards weaving a canvas of blissful joy and conviction in your own self-worth could be easily waved off as a fool’s errand. Alas, we doom ourselves into a life of perpetual misery, anger, and nihilism for which the only cure is time-murdering escapism. Such a shame, for whatever time we have on this earth is limited, precious, and sacred to be wasted away in crushing relentless toil and aimless addictions.
There is this one thing that only you could be doing right now that will turn on that dormant inner engine of your passion. We’re not here on earth to suffer the Sisyphean punishment to push that boulder of rock up a steep mountain every day at a job we cannot stand only to watch it fall down at the end of each working day with the torture of knowing that we will have to repeat that same grueling task the next day, 5 days a week.
The only way out of this 9th circle of hell is through introspection and careful attention to our very own uniqueness and the things that make us special.
You might’ve heard that cynical phrase “You’re unique and special, just like everyone else!” It’s usually being said, tongue-in-cheek, to ridicule how mediocre people think they are “special!” But that is quite the very thing that is wrong with all of us. We are mediocre just as long as we do not believe in our own greatness and that we have within our very DNA, within our specific set of circumstances, within our influences through culture, language, family, and environment, and within our own thoughts, hopes, dreams, and disappointments, and even within our own failures, the key to finding that special spot of perfect harmony in the world that could afford us peace of mind throughout all events good and bad.
You see, contentment is attainable only through that deep belief that what you are doing matters to YOU. It doesn’t matter how hard it is, how time-consuming it is, how thankless it is even, just as long as you can find within your own spirit that pilot light that will always be feeding your roaring fires of agency and self-motivation.
To be on that path, you must imagine yourself at the very end, at the very top, raising your arms up high in the air in a triumphant display of ultimate competence.
That very first step, however, is figuring out who you are, what turns you on, what lights your fires, and what sort of work compels you to pursue a certain path regardless of the obstacles along the way.
Some of us are lucky enough to have that very thing figured out at a very young age, through being allowed the time and resources to explore our own abilities. Most of us did not have such a luxury and we were prodded back in line and sent through the processing plants of primary education, family traditions, overprotective parents, overbearing societies, stifling atmosphere for the intellect, the oppression of ideas, and the suppression of individuality.
Step One is always, know thyself. And that could only be through relentless experimentation. You’ve got to go through that very thing you missed doing as a child exploring the world and yourself. You were not allowed to properly explore yourself and that is why you are unable now to unlock the doors to your own unique abilities.
The insides of your soul are like an endless maze riddled with angels and demons, waiting to be explored behind open and closed doors, secret traps, dead-ends, and hidden paths leading to loads of hope, joy, courage, accomplishment, and chests of unfathomable treasures.
All you have to do is take a step forward.
Even if you have to do ten thousand experiments to finally figure this thing out, go right ahead. It’s definitely worth it. And it is never ever too late to get started. You can always, always, always, and ever start your life again.
People step out of their old lives and step into new lives with a fresh start all the time.
Some of us are forced towards that fresh start against our will because we were oblivious in our complacent trance of surrender and futile aimless drifting through life.
Be one of those who can plan to step out of their lives intentionally towards a life of purpose and the joy of doing that one thing that matters to you.
But don’t get hung up on the “one and only thing” limitation. That ONE thing you are very passionate about could transform itself into something entirely different along the way as you explore the extents of your own passions and where they intersect with your abilities and natural dispositions.
Get a move on. Stop wandering. Get off that rollercoaster ride and step out into something else in that theme park you’re visiting. Just remember that you actually walked into that rollercoaster ride with your own two feet, and you paid the price of your ticket to get there, and then you willingly allowed that rollercoaster operator to strap you in and lock you in your seat with a metal bar that won’t let you fall off, or get off your seat.
But eventually, every few laps, you’re back on that platform, where the ride stops, the metal bars are lifted, and where you get your chance to get off towards another adventure.
The choice is always yours.
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