Soulful Sunday #13 -Nonconforming

We have all heard the quote “The more things change, the more things stay the same.” I never really understood what this meant until I started changing.

As I continue to grow, and learn, and adopt my own beliefs, I discover how many of my peers still believe in the same things they have been taught since they were children. This is not necessarily a bad thing, please don’t get me wrong, however; I have noticed that when I ask certain friends or coworkers “What exactly is it about conservative politics that makes you identify with that side?” Almost every single one of them say, “Well my parents were Republican and that’s the way I was brought up.”

This baffles me, so that’s it? You’re not going to take the initiative to research these beliefs on your own, you’re just going to accept the way that you’ve been taught is how you should base your political views? And this isn’t just politics. It’s religion, a way of life in general. So many people believe what they believe only because it’s what their parents taught them.

I dearly love my parents, I am lucky. I had two wonderful, smart, and kind people raise me, and my mom is no longer here, but we butted heads a lot. I was never one to accept things just because “that’s the way it’s always been.” I’m sorry, but that way of thinking is utter bullshit! I have my own brain, and my own thoughts. So why should I accept that something is the way it is? Or believe something just because my parents believed that way?  NO! I have every right to learn a multitude of different ways of life and figure out which one is best for me.

I have also found that these same people are often not happy in their lives.. They work jobs that they hate, but they stay because they are comfortable. They stay in relationships that aren’t fulfilling, but they become too dependent and too comfortable to ever leave, but they’ll still complain and say things like “Well, I’m just waiting for so & so to change & then I can do xyz, and then I’ll be happy.”

The definition of insanity is doing the same tasks repeatedly and expecting a different outcome.

So why on earth do people stay in the same situations, doing the same routine day in and day out, and expect their outcomes to change?

If you want change, you have to seek it yourself. You will never grow as a person if you don’t step out of your comfort zone.

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Now I realize we need money in order to live, and it’s not always easy to just quit our jobs because we’re not happy, but why do we put so much importance on financial status? We have to live in large houses and own multiple cars, and attend extravagant events so we can write about it in our Christmas letters. I mean no offense. Personally, I just don’t get it.

I would rather define my wealth on the experiences I have under my belt than by the material possessions I own. I would rather count the memories I have written in my journal, the number of sunsets I have seen, and the hours I have spent laughing rather than the money in my wallet.

I truly believe this is the key to happiness. I don’t want or need to keep up with the Jones’s, I am too focused on my own life to concern myself with what they’re up to anyway.

When we break away from societal norms and start living our lives the way we want, without caring what everyone else thinks, it’s liberating, it’s freedom!

Love & life lessons,

Kristian