Normal

I often think about this conversation Rachel had with her dad where she exclaims about how she doesn’t want to be a shoe.

She says, “What if I’d want to be a purse, or a hat?” Sure, it was a metaphor, but it immensely struck me and it has every right to. She was totally correct which perhaps was one of the reasons the pilot was such a success. Today, however, we are not talking about Friends, although that would be a topic of interest to you, possibly more than what I am about to say now. But will you bear with me?

Before we move along, let’s talk a bit about our society. Well, first things first, what comes to your mind when you read or hear the word “society”? Let me help you and try my best to put it into words. If you don’t agree to what I have to say, feel free to close the tab and continue with whatever you were doing before this. I won’t mind, sadly, I wouldn’t even know.

The picture we have painted in our minds is a patriarchal, illiberal, intolerant and regressive group of people who we believe have pulled us back every time we have tried to move forward. This, unfortunately, is a mind map we have built over quite some time now. Our parents, relatives, teachers, and supposedly most “well-wishers” are the prime culprits to these ill practices of which we are the victims, or so we believe.

To your surprise, I am not talking about that “society” you have in mind. I really think they deserve a break, and there are enough articles already that have been intensified in the very subject. So, not me, not today. The society I was talking about is the part that always somehow gets overlooked during people’s conversation and in our mental models. They are our friends, their social media presence, the media in itself and its innumerous influencers. And these undoubtedly have more impacts than the physical “society” that gets talked about a lot within our beloved society. The question I have in mind is, to what degree are these impacts positive?

I obviously cannot accumulate all of those instances that prove how demeaning the social media has been, neither can I glorify the prior. Because, everything has its own good and bad sides. Although we all should agree that our parents can sometimes, both- mean and do good for us; while social media and the influencers can have a lot to offer. I, myself am an active member of the swamp and I have not yet become that hypocrite to declare it to be total waste. All I am doing today is emphasizing or somewhat exaggerating (I am sorry) a feeling that I personally get a surge of, when I am in the society that we all love.

While I am there, scrolling infinitely into the universe of chaos, I see people who are either engraved under their own pile of burden or people adding into someone else’s. This has become a new norm and it saddens me. I also notice people striving for that ultimate greatness- fame, power, money and acceptance that doesn’t help but make me question my status quo. Whatever I am striving for; will it be acknowledged and endorsed by the crowd? I think until I question myself again, do I need people to do so?

I haven’t found an answer to that, but lately, I find myself contemplating over decisions and if they at all are going to prove worthy or in any way will help answer my queries. Will I become somebody? Or what if I am doomed to be a nobody? That thought scares me and I will tell you what doesn’t help- seeing people thrive and grow because, and despite such an unpredictable environment, doesn’t. It further throws me into the limbo of “whether or not my existence is recognized by the world I live in.” Amidst all these, the social media and the statement it echoes simply worsens the situation. All I feel is like I should not have been here.

Furthermore, the work I do, the sentences I write, the words I speak, what if all these are getting unnoticed? What if I can’t even make just another brick in the wall? What really am I doing? I am definitely not one of those people who have a goal set for their lives. I know some of them and I envy their clarity. They say, “I want to build a company and take it far and beyond.”, “I want to have a lifestyle vlog of my own and have an event managing firm.”, “I want to write codes and help people set good habits.”. See how these people are a step closer towards their dream. I am the opposite. Because I don’t have a firm determination of what I want to be in my future. And the platform I am adhering to amplifies the doubt in me and makes me realize how big of an indecisive figure I have become.

However, as a limelight, I recently have realized something that could somewhat justify my current way of life and even my uncertain future. Despite the noise I managed to find a signal that motivated me to keep leading the path I am pursuing. I thought and I decided- I want to HELP. Specifically, help the people in charge and be the best of its kind.

This was my train of thought - So what does the world comprise of? All leaders? All heroes? All CEOs? All pilots? Duh. No! The world is full of people who follow, the world is full of actors who help, the world is full of employees who work and it’s full of passengers who travel. The world, although, may seem like it’s run by the people at the front seat, who steer the wheel, but in reality, it’s the normal people like us who are making things happen. It is us, who are not the influencers, neither the leading business people, but normal beings who do what we know and do it with diligence and honesty which keeps the complicated ecosystem, intact. The world exists because there are people who help the ones with vision, who follow the rightful leaders, and who assist other people in need.

While we should all be striving for greatness, we need to remember the fact that many of us will not make it to the top. Although we try our very best, the inevitable truth will still prevail. But that should in no way make us less motivated or any less enthusiastic for whatever we are trying to achieve. Because in the end, one of those who try are the ones who actually make it. And this should be a reason enough for us to keep going and to stay happy while in the process.

Now let’s make a final turn to how we started, remember Rachel? The reason I relate to her so much is because the society we live in focuses on being a leader. It highlights and reveres the life of a celebrity and a famous person which in turn develops a mental model where we weigh success and happiness against lavish lifestyles and a lot of money. The world may expect you to become a leader, and is busy showing you the end result that it doesn’t care about the contingency plan (which by the way is how the world works). And when we finally fall back into the laps of reality, we find ourselves following other people, and we sadly think we have failed. Our life becomes miserable, which could and should have been lived without remorse.

The way I see it, the modern society is putting us under immense pressure to achieve and reach higher grounds that normalcy is made to feel scanty. The world feebly wishes to nurture glorious leaders that it instead manages to produce miserable followers. The world wants us to be shoes and help move forward, that when we end up becoming a hat- the heavy storm we could protect will be conceived as a sweet drizzle that we just obstruct. And hence, no one wants to be a hat.