They say, “If you are not with me you are against me.” As I grow older this becomes an increasingly salient feature in my life. It surely doesn’t mean those who are not with me are my enemy. Rather, it refers to those who aid in resisting my progress. I must free myself from influences that chafe and chide. No one knows my best but me; no one wants my best more than I want it: not my parents, not my friends, not even my higher power. All these things act to restrain my spirit, to place irons on my imagination, to hamper the flow of possibility from escaping.
The herd mentality is alive and strong. If you are not with me, you are against me. This could not be truer for those wishing to seek the highest peaks of progress. No worthwhile goal can be set for you. You may achieve a level of prestige, of status, but you are fawning after idolized approbation. To follow a path, a goal, an aim already carved out and inscribed by someone else is mimicry: a mockery of your being. No authentic mind can tread on familiar ground without losing himself.
All around me I find mockery. I sometimes believe that followers seek truth. But the individualism of authentic being cannot be apprehended by following. We must learn to lead ourselves, and only then do we follow truth.
Fear. Those lowly creatures: they spot a speckle of soot and run, afraid of what lies beneath, not realizing the gold that glows if they had only the courage to rub.
I aim to carry the world, all of its contents, its feelings and fabrications, upon my back; so that one day my body will bear the weight of something greater. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, said Aristotle, but a habit. Let us practice the art of tempering our capacities so that one day we may meet challenges with greatness.
The world is falling apart. Words are empty. Speech writers study tantric texts rather than human hearts; and the disconnect grows. Individualism and freedom are deceptive devices for herds and slaves.
People fear, so they find the familiar.
Stop fearing the unknown; that is where all the answers lie: deep within, in the untrammeled darkness.
There is nothing to fear when fear has been found; the outlines of limitation become the visible netting that catches your most precious dreams. Set your dreams free; snip the threads that surround you.
Take a risk, damnit. If you do, you may grow spiritually, emotionally, psychologically. If you don’t, you’re guaranteed not to. You must live for yourself. Quite a feat nowadays. Let me capitalize on this growing malaise.
My aim in life is to be unknown to others. If I am known, I have died. My status and state has been estimated and calculated. That should never be the case for an evolving being. Change must be a priority, but let us not put limits on what this change might look like.
William Dare 