Have you observed that people have a tendency to behave like sheep? It is called herd mentality. Everyone seems to want to follow the other. Everyone does as the others do. We are moved around and guided by invisible shepherds. Yes, rules can also act as shepherds. I, for one, will cross the street even if the “red hand” is saying no…if there are no cars coming. I may wear red when everyone else is wearing black. I have also been known to take a red light if I’m driving home at 2 am and the streets are deserted. Silly examples…but you get my drift...right? Maybe I have a rebellious side…correction… I know I have a non-conformist side. But it really is more like a questioning nature.
It follows that I was surprised when I found myself guilty of exactly that. Yes…I was a bit of a lamb. I caught myself using the widely used and misused cliche that goes something like this…“I am living my life to the fullest”. That phrase has spread around like wild fire. I read a story written by Karen Nimmo that brought me down to earth reminding me that that is an illusory phrase. It’s a phrase that may, if left unexamined, make one feel bad about just having a bad day… or a day where you feel lonely or sad. Sadness is a necessary emotion…one that has to be allowed to happen…otherwise, how else would you recognize joy?
What constitutes a “full” life anyway? If one thinks about it, one comes to the conclusion that it is something highly personal in nature. It shouldn’t be what movies and self help books have decided is a life worth living. Life is not only about adventure, travel, testing limits, having romantics interludes and having fun fun fun. Life is also about home and hearth, family, faith, surviving trials and tribulations, loving and losing, and simple sadness and joy.
I believe a better thought is “I want to see my life growing”. By that I mean that I want to invite the new into my life. I want to invite changes; welcomed or not. I want to challenge the status quo. I want new people to come into my life. Oh, I still want the comfort of the old true and tried places that feel like home, my friends, my family, old shoes, old loves…it’s like coming home to heal when I need it.
I do know that acting like sheep will not grow me or my life. I like and must get lost sometimes. I always find my way and emerge a better person with a story to tell.
A better phrase to live by is “Life gets bigger when you break from the herd…”
