Saturday, October 04, 2008

Out of my way!

I was thinking yesterday about how important it is to humans to be important.

Bear with me while we figure this out.

I want to be respected. I had a dream last night that I was at church and I was told that I had to preach. Keep in mind: I have never preached in my life and the thought nearly knocks me off the bed. Back to the dream- I was getting completely incensed when people weren't paying attention to me. They were talking to one another and even getting up to walk around the room. I resorted to, yes, hollering at them. It was absolutely insane.

Firstly, I would never preach. (Watch this come back to bite me in ten years.) Secondly, I am not the hollering type. I mean, I have done it. I'm a redhead. But I want to be known as gentle and not for beating other people about the head with my beliefs! Certainly, I don't want to be a doormat and I want to be bold, but bold and obnoxious do not have to co-exist.

We have to matter. It's in our makeup. It never fails to amuse me how this generation acts completely ambivalent about this and yet it is glaringly obvious. Teenagers and twenty-somethings cheer on those who decide to buck the trends to be an outsider and be different. They say, "I don't care what anyone thinks." But then they blog and they join social networking sites and proudly display comments and wall posts. Really, the dance card is still utilized- it is just now masquerading in the form of a text message. Yet point this fact out to one of these compulsive users, and you are met with a blank stare, then defiance at the idea that they actually NEED another human being.

That's a sermon right there. But remember, I don't preach.

Everyone wants to be an important entity. If not, you won't survive. It starts out with being who has the best lunchbox in elementary school, then moves on to who has the best high heels (I'm battling it out for this one!). Eventually, it's who publishes the #1 NYT Bestseller...then the sequels. Who creates the next must-have product, then continues to renew the patent. We view it as a competition, but it really seems that there's room for everyone. What is lacking? Creativity.

We feel that we have to step on one another to climb to the top. Wouldn't it be a novel idea if we worked together to help everyone find their own importance? But no. We're too busy tromping our way up, up, up.

Hey, at least the tromping is happening in fabulous heels, am I right?

2 comments:

Ashley said...

I must say I am glad you have chosen to start a blog. I love the way you write and express and definitely loved what you wrote in this entry.

This subject is one that I've been trying to put into words for quite some time now, and you did it perfectly.

:]

Elisse said...

This is so very true. It really resonates with me. However, as I get older I am getting increasingly more comfortable in my own skin and am working increasingly to simply do God's will and make first God, and second, myself, happy. Those two pursuits are merging more and more into each other, and I couldn't be more thrilled at the result.

Anyway...you're so right, though, about everyone wanting to be different but then following like bleating sheep towards the next opportunity to one-up everyone else. It's actually pretty funny if you think about it. It's the stuff of which great satires are made. I wish science had found a way to transplant Oscar Wilde's biting observational skills into my currently cloudy head, cause I could certainly take advantage of them right about now ;)