Is it possible to have ‘worn the mask’ for so long
That you forget who you are?
Or
Is it not so much a matter of ‘forgetting’
As it is a matter of ‘transformation’
The mask fused to the face,
The old face gone?
Maybe there is no face, and no mask
Just outdated ideas about
Who you were once
Or
Who you wanted to be
Maybe
Clinging to identification
Is just
Clinging to self-conflict.
Or maybe it isn’t.
What’s most important is that you’re happy with who you are.
What some refer to as ‘cultural appropriation’ (ie. the transference of ideas and practices from one group to another) is the mechanism by which culture spreads.
You can try and restrict this transfer from certain groups to another
But this kind of defeats the whole point of culture in the first place;
A free interchange that enriches collective human culture.
The transfer is not unidirectional
And in such a cultural exchange, both sides can benefit
(…though you could argue that one side may benefit more than the other).
Put another way
Cultural appropriation is a part of how culture works.
Bringing it into the realm of identity politics
And trying to rearrange it
So that only some groups can benefit from it
Is both misguided and impossible.
A cow that is killed by a bolt to its head
Will die more quickly and painlessly than most of us.
And, like most of us,
The cow won’t have a say in the matter.
Life is too important to take seriously.
Image by Aleksandar Lazovski
Having an aversion to working a ‘real job’ could be a net benefit in cases in which you’re looking to pursue an ‘alternative’ career – eg. an artistic endeavour with a much lower probability of success (eg. making a living), but with fame and higher financial rewards on the upside (music, acting, comedy, writing etc).
Put simply, it forces you to go ‘all in’. It does not allow you to get comfortable in a normal career.
However – it’s only a benefit to those with the talent and drive to pursue their art/high-risk, high-reward occupation. And even amongst those people, luck is a massive factor.
Which means you either succeed or fail spectacularly. You don’t get to live in ‘the middle’. To work in middle management, and live in a nice, middle-sized house, oh no…
As a glib example: you’re either a millionaire entertainer, raking in the royalties or you move from service job to service job, eking out a living whilst you work on your comedy until you die.
The deck is stacked against you, but if it’s what you’re called to, there is no other way, I suppose.
To me, this is the life of the artist – no compromise. All or nothing.
Photo by Free-Photos (Pixabay)
Collectively, the human race is an organism
That converts accessible energy and the biosphere into more of itself.
Viewed from sufficient distance, our activity resembles that of bacteria.
Photo by Free-Photos (Pixabay)
You can make the right decision and things can still go wrong for you.
Image credit: Kornelije Sajler