hummingwolf (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
hummingwolf) wrote2002-04-24 10:10 am
hummingwolf) wrote2002-04-24 10:10 am
Entry tags:
(no subject)
The rough beginning of something I want to say to someone who won't listen to me anyway.
You keep asking why you're so miserable with your life when you obviously have so many things going for you; but isn't the answer to that question also obvious? When your deepest belief is X yet you're living in a way that's made you very nearly the anti-X, how can you help being miserable? Why would you rather follow everyone else's rules when you are convinced that those rules are the culture's greatest mistake? Why follow rules that you believe make people dead inside? Why not follow the things you believe in--risky though such a path may seem to outsiders--when what you could lose walking in that way is so much less than what you lose living the "normal" life?
You probably realize that I don't agree with all your philosophy. As a matter of fact, I believe that a great deal of it is flat-out wrong. But I'm not going to try to convince you of that today: you and I have had vastly different life experiences, after all, and you are sane and intelligent enough that you must have had good reason to begin to believe. So what I wish I could convince you of is that you need to put your own beliefs into practice.
You're living a life that you can't defend simply because it's what's expected of you, because it's the prudent thing to do--when you and I both know that living what others call the prudent life is the one sure way to make you feel hollow inside. All those essays and books you've recommended over the years, the ones holding the Deep Secrets of Life: Think of their message, and decide for once to put it into action. No, I'm not saying this out of some deep-seated urge to resolve all the contradictions I see in other people's lives: I'm not such a big fan of consistency as you suppose. I'm saying this because I want you to live for a change. Whatever you do, don't let yourself think that the emptiness you feel now has anything to do with Real Life.
You keep asking why you're so miserable with your life when you obviously have so many things going for you; but isn't the answer to that question also obvious? When your deepest belief is X yet you're living in a way that's made you very nearly the anti-X, how can you help being miserable? Why would you rather follow everyone else's rules when you are convinced that those rules are the culture's greatest mistake? Why follow rules that you believe make people dead inside? Why not follow the things you believe in--risky though such a path may seem to outsiders--when what you could lose walking in that way is so much less than what you lose living the "normal" life?
You probably realize that I don't agree with all your philosophy. As a matter of fact, I believe that a great deal of it is flat-out wrong. But I'm not going to try to convince you of that today: you and I have had vastly different life experiences, after all, and you are sane and intelligent enough that you must have had good reason to begin to believe. So what I wish I could convince you of is that you need to put your own beliefs into practice.
You're living a life that you can't defend simply because it's what's expected of you, because it's the prudent thing to do--when you and I both know that living what others call the prudent life is the one sure way to make you feel hollow inside. All those essays and books you've recommended over the years, the ones holding the Deep Secrets of Life: Think of their message, and decide for once to put it into action. No, I'm not saying this out of some deep-seated urge to resolve all the contradictions I see in other people's lives: I'm not such a big fan of consistency as you suppose. I'm saying this because I want you to live for a change. Whatever you do, don't let yourself think that the emptiness you feel now has anything to do with Real Life.
no subject
Gawd...*lol*