I just watched Dead Poets Society for about the fifth time in my life. Each time, its message still stands out. Carpe Diem. Seize the Day. Even if life stretched out in all directions unendingly, a surface of uncountably infinity magnitude, it would still be too short to live for someone else. It would be too short to allow them to control your thoughts and actions. You must look out for your own well-being first (or manage your affairs until you can) – and it does happen. It took me until I was 24 to stand up for what I felt was correct. To stand upon my desk and say, “O Captain, My Captain.” I was unhappy with life and was unattached to any name I had been given. Then I took action. I carved my name from my identity – who I am deep down. It only matters that it happened. That validation was intense. For you, it may come in another way. Every journey has its constants and its variables. There is always a lighthouse. It does not matter when it happens, only that it does. It is never too late to affirm yourself. It is never too late to share your heart, mind, and soul. It is never too late to stand up and be counted.
It takes an immense amount of courage to do such a thing, too. In a world that shuns empathy, even when it is becoming a more valuable asset by the day, it takes a lot to be authentic. We’re constantly told to CONFORM OR DIE. We fail to recognize our uniqueness – we’re told to shun the special snowflake! Yet, the failure to recognize almost unending complexity should not reduce us to tearing others down. We should be letting our experience inform ourselves of how not listening to the needs of a group can be detrimental to all outgroups.
The future has rapidly advanced upon us, and we are now at a stage in our history where most jobs can be performed by automatons whose only want is energy. We are entering an era where any organ may be printed with one’s own stem cells, a process that would eliminate rejection entirely. We are adding three months to the human lifespan annually. The cost of all of these procedures is decreasing as we understand more about them, and as we exponentially increase our ability to solve problems. If there was ever a glimmer of hope at any point in human history for anyone that has ever felt “different,” like myself, this would be it. Stare boldly into the new dawn and stand on the shoulders of giants. Keep your dreams alive, even as everyone spits in your path and claims it’s futile. Prove them wrong.
Carpe Diem! Unless you’re like me, then “Seize the Night.”
Via: Mommies and Daddies With Chronic Pain (http://on.fb.me/1Lgnc6P)