Reach for the stars, follow your heart's desire

Unfortunately, we don't always get what we want, or what we deserve. I was talking to someone today about a goal which he completely deserved to attain, and would have done had he not been so modest about his unrecognised achievements.

It is also unfortunate that few people go out of their depth to look for the positive aspects of people, and instead, concentrate of what is given to them at face value. I speak as one of those arrogant people who are very willing to let others know of their achievements, at least when it matters. But it does annoy me when people who aren't so well acquainted with showing off miss out on what they deserve because others do not have the time or the courtesy to try them out.

It annoys me more when people who are confident, boastful and fake achieve certain goals at the expense of those who are less keen to get a one up on everyone else.

And finally, it annoys me when people are chosen or rewarded simply for being nice, even if their individual assests relevant to a task at hand are less valuable than those of a person who is simply unable to maintain a fake smile for the duration of a conversation. Of course, people are understandably attracted to nice people (in the generic sense), and in most circumstances, you don't want to be around someone who is not nice. However, I still don't think someone who is nicer at face value should attain a goal at the expense of a less overtly nice person who deserves it more.

Having said all that, I will freely admit that I'm a hypocrite who plays the game but resents doing so. When necessary, I have no trouble projecting a fake persona, and I will definately forgo some of my morals to get something that I really want, then feel bad afterwards. But this is the way the world / our society rolls, and if everyone does it (let's face it, most people do) and knows its wrong, what can be done?

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Free as a bird?

Are we really free in today's world? Ok, some say that we have freedom to do what we want, as long as nothing too harmful comes out of it. Yet we are bound by so many rules and regulations that "freedom" needs to be redefined.

In British society today, we are told that we are free. But free to do what exactly? To buy a newspaper? To talk to other people about my opinions? To choose what clothes I wear?
Beyond that, i'm not really sure how free I am, I'm putting this down to labels. Suppose that I smoke, wear a hoddie with trousers that go round my knees, swear a lot and use "street" language, then people would label me a chav and I would belong to a group of people who are all labelled chavs. But then suppose I would start listening to Classic FM instead of KISS (for example), I would be no longer labelled a chav, both by chav friends and others. So in im own interests of staying within a group, I would not listen to Classic FM. In other words, I do not have the freedom to do what I want. (I am not saying that all chavs smoke, swear, and dress badly. If you are reading this and consider yourself a chav is reading this, don't be offended - its simply what the rest of the world thinks of you and you are free to make up your own mind about yourself).

Suppose now that I wanted a bit of everything and did everything according to my tastes and not what society / my cliques expects of me. Then I would not be part of any group, and would find it difficult to fit in and make connections based on the fact that I don't belong. So in this respect, we are not free to do what we choose, and everyone must hide their true personality or project a false one in order to "belong." (After all belonging to a group has secured our evolutionary survival thus far, but that is a topic for a another post...)

Is this a bad thing? I vote no. Staying in a group has its obvious advantages, and if you don't like being fake, then there are plenty of other groups to join. In my experience, most cliques are simply formed of people who share a common interest. And even if staying in a group means projecting a persona that is not how you view yourself, it is better than the alternative of being alone. After all, since when are we completely free to live and think?- our thoughts and actions are shaped by those around us. Why should be look for complete social freedom when we know it comes at too high a cost?

X

Here I am- deliver me! ................................... or not.

Why do some "hardcore" christians feel the need to pray in public, deliver "you're going to hell" speeches and shove unwanted flyers into hands of those innocently passsing by?

As an atheist, perhaps I am unable to understand the subtleties of religion, but I shall do by best. Through my understanding of the Christian religion, God is able to talk to eveyone and values everyone equally. God knows everything, including when you're praying and what you're praying about.

Yet some Christians believe that they have the right to judge the actions of others simply because they go round praying in public and trying to force their judgements those around them (evangelise their friends). Yet how would a Christian be able to judge others without being free of sin, as it states in the Bible? Of course, it is because they are holier than everyone else and because they believe they are like Christ. Maybe I would be wrong in calling this blasphemy, perhaps, "aspiring to be like a role model" is a better phrase...

Perhaps it is time for those Christians to take a leaf from the books of their supposedly less holy Christian peers and realise that they are not God, and that God, and the rest of the world, does not appreciate them trying to be God.

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