Cookie Cutter

Layers and layers of masks - and somewhere, lost deep beneath is our self - our essence , which has been manipulated, been mutilated and in camouflaged since we were old enough to be told to behave in a certain way.Some of us are old souls, we are ready to plunge deep within to find our true self, others are just discovering life - naive and enthusiastic.

Society encourages uniformity - there is a comfort in fitting in, in following the norms of human life. I have been interacting with an array of teenagers and paradoxically  although I should feel older in the company of youth, I was thrilled to be amidst new thoughts, new viewpoints of life and the world in general. We evolve through our youth. New radical thinking, and questioning is the basis for all change in society. Acceptance only stagnates and slowly kills us.

Questioning, doubting, thinking and defying the tried and tested is necessary if the human race wants to evolve. The world needs more rebellion and independent thinkers. More people willing to strike their own path - regardless of whether they will "succeed" in terms of real world.  I was raised to question, and I encourage my kids to think and form their opinion. I bring my experience to the table  and they bring their optimism.

Yet, when I talk to the youngsters today, I find that they are pragmatic, more willing to succumb to the pressures of society and its need to survive. We lack free thinkers, people who are okay with not being politically right, people who are willing to risk sounding like idiots and probably being booed. 

The exposure to unlimited resources - shallow and fast - at the tips of your fingers, has made us very susceptible to basing our opinions on what is more media savvy. I find our opinions are manipulated by what is accessible on media.

We need detoxification from time to time from all the media-pollutants, to be able to clarify our own personal needs. Discover our essence, to think - to think for ourselves, and not unconsciously plagiarizing..

We are all different. We need to think different, We need the next generation to think and not just recycle.