auto-pilot minds,
set up in glass boxes like golden shrines;
we’re waiting for the right signs
to turn back the hands of time;
we’ve made an idol of being idle, but on the horizon,
the water is risin’
i see a revival of young minds who will not be stifled
who will allow their thoughts to reach so far outside the box
and will make their dreams into realities
so go ahead and criticize
hide behind your hand-me-down lies
but you are just the stepping stones
on our way to the throne
Recently I’ve noticed how often people go through day-to-day activities in a sort of “auto-pilot” mode…and it’s really sad.
I should probably start with defining what I’m referring to when I say “auto-pilot.” To me, this is when someone goes through the routine, expected motions of various categories of life without questioning, wondering, or thinking about what they’re really doing.
There are two sides of auto-piloting I want to talk about.
1. Brain-dead robots
While:
- listening to a lecture or sermon
- hearing gossip/dramatic stories from your friends
- watching the news
are you taking their word for it, or do you ask questions (silently or aloud) and do further research on trusted websites or in the library?
It’s important to make sure these people (professors, religious leaders, friends, family, politicians, etc.), however respected or well-known they may be, have conveyed the whole, unbiased truth to you before you take on their ideas and perspectives as your own. When you hear a shocking claim like “Did you know McDonald’s hamburgers are made of pink slime?!” or “You know so and so is sleeping around?” etc., you should take those comments and stories with a grain of salt until you have concrete evidence to back them up.
{BTW, McDonald’s did actually make their hamburgers out of pink slime, but since 2012 have begun to make their burgers in a different way…I still don’t know what the new way is though.
Does that mean McDonald’s is totally cool and healthy now? No.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/pink-slime-removed-from-mcdonalds-burgers–but-other-weird-food-additives-remain/2012/02/01/gIQAdfvAiQ_blog.html}
The thirst for knowledge and the value of critical thinking skills are crucial to the common citizen. It’s important for us to be informed by unbiased facts as opposed to biased, opinion-based perspectives. At times, it’s hard to remove ourselves from our “own little world” and “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes,” but it is extremely vital that we do so for the sake of justice.
2. Distracted pawns who live to die
Do you enjoy your job/career? Are you good at what you do?
What are some of your main goals in life? Have you accomplished them? Have you made any plans to?
What do you do [on a consistent basis] to help others in need?
Are you stressed out, distracted, worn down, burnt out on your life?
It seems to me that most people “live to die.” In other words, they travel the expected path of K-12 school, possibly college, getting a solid job, marriage, having children, having grandchildren, and dying.
I’m not hating on any of that stuff.
It just seems like such a depressing life to work 9-5, six out of seven days a week, then take 1 week off to go to Florida with your family and another week off to have Christmas with them. Is that really what life is about? Is that all there is? Are you seriously happy with that?
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What would be your ideal life? No. Seriously. Like, take a second and think about it. Type it out or write it down. Right now. I’ll do it too.
live on the beach, write music, write a book, go surfing, spend time with friends and family, live somewhere that isn’t in the southeast, help people on a consistent basis
So what are the things that are stopping you from doing what you truly want to do?
family, money/job, fear of letting go of what is “comfortable”
I could honestly make it happen. I just don’t. It’s really time to stop making excuses for ourselves. They’re simply cop-outs that justify our laziness…and we somehow become complacent because ‘everyone else’ does it too. Congrats, you’re an idiot like everyone else. haha.
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It seems that if most people consistently asked themselves these questions and had this perspective, they would be extremely depressed. So what do they do instead of having a consistent existential crisis?
They distract themselves.
How?
T.V., movies, games, vacations, food, hanging out with friends, etc.
Anything that can take your mind off of the realities of your dull, meaningless life is welcome.
I am not going to sit here and ramble on and on and on trying to analyze this in a way that makes sense to every single person.
The way I see it, there are two kinds of people in the world: the adventurers and the stepping stones.
Neither one of these groups of people is any worse or better than the other; They are both necessary to each other’s survival. Deny it all you will, but there will always be followers and leaders, talkers and do-ers, commoners and celebrities, etc.
Imagine if there were 300 adventurers and only 10 stepping stones. Those adventurers wouldn’t get very far. Now switch it. Imagine if there were 10 adventurers and 300 stepping stones. Those adventurers would go places.
That’s kind of how I think of life. “Do I want to be one of a million, or one in a million?”
I long to be an adventurer. Unfortunately, I feel stuck as a mere stepping stone at this point in time. Soon, however, I hope to disprove any “haters” out there who believe I can’t achieve anything I set my mind to.
So I’ve totally gotten on this rabbit trail to Neverland and have drifted away from my intended path. My point, however, is this:
You only live once, so seize every single moment. Don’t use YOLO as an excuse to make stupid choices that will have long-term negative effects on your life. Rather, use YOLO as a reminder of the inescapable fate of every living creature on the earth: death. Don’t let this reality depress you, but let it inspire you to do your absolute best at everything you do. Let it inspire you to love others as yourself. Let it inspire you to stop adding things to your bucket list and instead begin crossing them off. Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, but it is about learning how to dance in the rain.
I have one last example and then I’ll leave you alone.
It is storming outside.
Person 1: I hate the rain. It makes me tired, apathetic, and sad. It gets in my shoes and messes up my hair.
Person 2: The rain sounds so beautiful and peaceful. It helps the plants to flourish and provides us with fresh water we need to survive. It’s like a free car wash!
same scenario; different perspectives
“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift – that’s why it is called the present.” – Oogway, Kung Fu Panda
So live your life.
a steady blaze 