Most of us have spent our lives at the beck and call of others, chasing dreams that weren’t even ours to begin with in the first place. We have been reduced to mere 24×7 ordinary functional beings. This is an attempt to pose some difficult questions at you so that you break free of this cycle and embrace your true unique self.
Who are you when no one’s watching? Who are you when you don’t have an assignment to submit? Who are you when you don’t have a deadline to tether yourself to? Who are you when you don’t have an exam the next day? Who are you when you do not have to answer to anybody? Who are you beyond the confines of projects and corporates and capitalism? Who are you when you are not just an emotionless machine supposedly expected to keep working without asking any questions?
These are some questions that have been racing with the thoughts on my mind. We are so accustomed to someone constantly being after our lives or sitting on our heads to get something done. As kids, our mothers made us do everything. In school, we were answerable to our teachers, and then to grades of our examination, and eventually to the society, who would look down upon us in case we didn’t perform “good” or outstanding. And this good is defined by the standard norms that our ancestors and practices have laid down for us. Ironically, this good has done nothing actually good but has just reduced the most of us to ordinary functional beings unable to have any creative expression that we can call our own.
Much like a robot, we are expected to work and behave in a certain way. It has not only stolen away our time and energy leaving no room for any social life but has also taken away our emotional quotient, in the sense that we are now too afraid to express ourselves truly. Should I tell him this? How should I behave? What will they think? What if I do something wrong and the world will come crashing down?
Most of us give in to this way of functioning thinking that it’s the norm. And in the process, we end up losing our own selves: our identity and what makes us unique. There is nothing wrong with having ordinary dreams or attempting to live a subtle lifestyle until and unless that’s what You want, and not just someone else’s idea of you. For one day, you would be standing in front of the mirror not being able to recognise yourself anymore.
If you’re reading this, I dare you to spend one day with yourself, trying to identify if you have been following the same patterns and go on an expedition to find your true self. Realise that you are not just a manifestation of someone else’s dreams and hopes and expectations. You are your own being and can take back control of your life at any point of time.
And trust me, once you do that, you would be exceptional and unstoppable. You would go on creating and experimenting something that you can call your own. And that would be epic!
Annanya Chaturvedi 