The complexities of being you and the pressure to conform
The eagle is my favorite bird. Found only in select regions of the world and a minority in the bird population, its complexities and simplicities, modes and executions, successes and failures, intrinsic characteristics and habitual patterns many derived from ecological demands, rank it high in resilience, fortitude and aptitude within a harsh, unforgiving ecosystem. Eagles traverse where no bird has dared to explore. Flying higher than any other bird, living in harsh environments often in solitude while employing unfathomable dexterities.
I guess it would be much easier for the eagle if she lived like other birds. In pretty, untouched environments complete with a lovely nest while enjoying peace and tranquility in a beautiful rainforest. That is the dream life for a bird. No reason to worry not a care in the world. Just singing away life in a state of infinite indulgence. Oh…and don’t forget the evening cruise on cloud street with the homeboys. Flying in grandeur formations, capturing the attention of all living creatures that bother to look up. However, that’s the other birds. The eagle is in its own class. Luxury takes a back seat. Solitude is cherished rather than the company of mediocrity. Eagles choose the harshest environments; fly high above in thin air, constantly hunting and defending its eminence among the best of the best.
It is easy to conform to the norms; to wish to be like everyone else or to want to emulate someone else. We live in a society where one is expected to act in a certain way, to take certain careers. One is ranked in mediocre standards. What kind of clothes one wears, what kind of vehicle one drives, what kind of job one has, what country club membership one holds, and so on and so forth. I know of individuals who took up golfing just because it would place them in a certain "class" and would enable them to brush shoulders with the rich and affluent. In regress, this is not in any way putting down the merit and benefits of networking. Networking is important for any individual who wants to advance in life but networking to boost egos sets in new lows of mediocrity.
This author is not promoting eccentricities or extricating behaviors but rather implying that it is possible to be normal without feeling like a duplicate. The need for self-identity is mostly expressed in the adolescent years but fades as people decide to blend in with society. The unique behavioral DNA is thus bleached and fades into the darkness. The fear of being ostracized by friends and family leads many of us to living unhappy lives trying to please the influences in our lives. It is critical for us to just step back and ask us the often-difficult questions we try to avoid. For example, am I happy? Why am I in this career? What do I have to lose? Many a times it is necessary for us to take great risks to achieve personal gains and growth. To put it simply, you were not put on this earth to earn a paycheck although it many times feels that way.
The great leaders and pioneers of our times have many times grown from shoots of simplicity to monumental and influential pillars of mankind. They refused to conform and chose to break away to carve their own destinies. I am a great admire of Bill Clinton, Collin Powell, Nelson Mandela, Jomo Kenyatta, Kwame Nkrumah, Steve Biko and yes… George W Bush. Sometimes when you go through the trials of life, the bullshit falls off like dead skin. It changes your inner core and opens up your mind to a totally different dimension. One thing I despise is being inculcated as to whom I should be. I view conformity with contempt and demand only one thing- the fundamental right to have my own identity. Being yourself is not a luxury or a privilege; it’s your right. You have a right to be you. To be pressured to be anything else is a licentious and an ignominy to the human race. You are the eagle that flies in lonely skies and traverses paths that few have found. Don’t be afraid; spread your wings and fly high. Lift your head up for you are the eagle among the sparrows. As for the rest of the miserable world, they can take you as you are or leave you in their misguided opinion of who they think you should be. Kapish!
posted by karoki at 8:46 AM
9 Comments:
written with a clear stamp of authority. well said.
One must also not confuse the 'road less travelled' with a path leading to where you do NOT want to go. Robert frosts poem I think is so powerful because it does not indicate whether taking the road less travelled was the right or wrong thing - all it did was make a difference.
We have more in common with the rest of humanity than we have that is different. I similarly am fond of the eagle for many of the reasons you mentioned, but i think it would lose its glamour if it were not just like any other bird first.
as usual a well written post.
we live i a society where we learn to conform to others expectations and never fully learn to be or to express ourselves...kudo's to the eagle if only i was an eagle
Thanks for stopping by my blog, Karoki.
I have been called an eccentric and I am very pleased by that! Who wants to be like everyone else? I surely do not.
I enjoy your style of writting,and your views, you really have a gift.....
Hmm, well said, Karoki - you might want to wander over to MJY (www.beginsathome.com/journal)'s blog. She has a personal take on that one.
It is especially bad when we come over to foreign countries with our own goals and aspirations, but then we find someone who is "willing to show us the ropes" and when those ropes are what they think you should be climbing as opposed to what you want, than they steer people away from making their lives what it should be.
Also, wanting to conform to the ideals of a "road well travelled" and the need to fit in does that to the human soul.
are you sure you are kenyan? your style and patterns of thought are very unique. I see a very promising and powerful writer and journalist. you should think of submitting your writing to the new york times.
Agree completely. Personally, I have never seen the point of the photocopy style of life. Or even, to follow your bird metaphor, the parrot one. My simple mind says to me that our fingerprints are each unique and different; why shouldn't the rest of us be, too? Er, cannot say, in all honesty (yes, I cut down the cherry tree) that I follow your admiration of George Bush, but that you see, is my Q.E.D.
@anoymous,
Nothing personal here, but I take a slight(very slight, really infinitestimal) exception to the question of whether this writer is Kenyan on the evidence of the unique patterns of thought exhibited. Having loudly declared my non-nationalistic, non-patriotic, non-kenyanistic tendencies somewhere else quite recently, I am nonetheless moved to say that writing at the margins is what the writer is all about. We're all cheering from the sidelines...and I would say the New Yorker, versus the New York Times for publication. Vive la difference!
i think the world goes around because we blend at some level...that we all dont fly solo and highest in the sky is important to guide the general direction of humanity.
i love you clarity
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