Life: An Analytical Observation

For every individual brought into the world, life starts with no purpose or meaning; just the knowledge that we're all perishable items and it will end just when you've made a name for yourself, a journey with no real destination. We are not allowed to choose our parents, and not allowed to make our own decisions until the age of 18 because that's what some old men in wigs decided hundreds of years ago. We're all here as the result of a couple or individual who decided to expand their family, or the aftermath of some irresponsible fun.

We're allowed a short period to grasp the concept of why we're here and what it all means when we're told we must go to school because knowledge is power and there is no future without it. After eighteen years of school, we're told that it wasn't enough and we have at least four more years of "higher education" before we can become a functioning member of society. During that time or shortly after, along with the pressures of living up to lofty expectations thrust upon us, we're supposed to find a "soulmate" because supposedly everyone has a counterpart. Yes, in a world filled with six billion people, growing at the rate of one person per second, we need to keep our eyes open for one person. Only a tailor who lives on a farm would find the irony in that scenario.

At some point during adolescence, we learn that privilege requires responsibility, so in order to be allowed to drive a car we need to take tests and acquire a license. The same process is required to catch a fish or fly a plane but nowhere along the line do you need to pass any tests to become a parent, which is why our planet grows at the rate I mentioned above. If that seems odd, don't worry it gets even better; if nature prevents you from having children of your own, you can adopt a child. That's when the paperwork and judgement comes into play because only when you decide to raise someone else's child are your abilities questioned beforehand.

Somewhere between adolescence and adulthood, we all reach a point where we make a conscious decision about the kind of person we want to be. This decision plays a key role in what kind of life we lead and how we affect those around us. This is not related to what we want to do with our life, our occupation or social standing. The kind of person you decide to be can impact everyone in the world so you really have to decide whether you want the impact to be favorable or not. For example, at some point I decided to take the "nice guy" route; perhaps it was even predetermined that I would end up that way but it's paid off greatly as I've actually been thanked for being who I am. Unfortunately, being allowed to make that kind of decision brings the opportunity for the kind of pain and suffering that exists in the world today. If only that were more like one of those things that we just accept like parents or rules.

When you follow the rules of society and achieve success, you'll be able to afford a nice family home in a desirable area ("desirable" open to interpretation). This is the path of least resistance, following a straight line from the graduation of high school to the steady completion of college and entering the workforce at a salary which is three or four times more than what minimum wage pays. Of course, if you decide to pave your own road and refuse to follow this formula you may not be entitled to the same level of success regardless of how hard you work. Inevitably, this means that once you've left the cliques of high school you will find that they never end and everyone fits into some "class" in society and are judged by that.

As I mentioned in the beginning, several years into your life when you can enjoy your position in the world, things are taken away from you. In may situations, it starts happening much earlier than that. The people you've collected as friends to help you through the rollercoaster ride, along with family members, leave you before you're able to truly appreciate them or communicate how much you do. You watch your children grow, hoping that you've done well, and watch them raise their own; then you have to leave. I suppose the world isn't big enough to keep everyone around forever, so what if you had a choice coming in?

As you read this, I can see into your mind and extract the very question you're asking, "what is all of this leading to?", and I'll graciously answer. The question is......"If Life were for sale, would you buy it"? If you were to read about this "product" called Life, would you subscribe to it? That idea hit me in the shower one day and more than a year later, I've finally been able to piece it all together in this forum. By now, most would say that this comes off like a rant from a bitter person, unloved and alone with nothing to show for their life. Perhaps, but it's really nothing more than an observation about the peculiar experience we all share as we rent space on Earth in an effort to make our mark on it.

Personally, I think it it very frustrating to know that someday I won't be able to look into my son's eyes or to hear a favorite song again, or enjoy a movie with my wife or a friend. Perhaps that comes with losing someone and feeling frustration for them for the things that they have lost. However, I find it more rewarding to think of how fortunate I am right now to be able to hear a favorite song, to play with my son and see my eyes in him, to enjoy time with my wife and my friends. That is what Life is to me, and to answer my own question, yes I would subscribe.