The Power In Thinking For Yourself

So many opinions, so much noise, and never enough stillness. When we are still and quiet our minds, innate wisdom comes through that cannot be obtained from just living our lives. It has to come from sitting with oneself in the silence to tune into something much, much greater. 

Our brains are such powerful tools, often overlooked in basic anatomy because even the most intelligent of doctors and scientists haven’t fully understood. They know the parts and functions, the nerves and blood vessels but what resides within and the capabilities of this living organism within us is still almost a supernatural phenomenon itself.

When our brains are shut off from receiving new information about certain topics or on a broad scale — our reality is skewed. Intelligence is wealth and you’ve heard the phrase “knowledge is power” so why would you limit the possibilities or outcomes based off of your mental blinders? That is all they simply are, limitations on your perception. This is the reason most people live mediocre lives, they believe everything they’ve been told since young when our brains are the most vulnerable to information. If you live a life like I have, always going against the grain, needing to find out the hard way, on my own — you most likely don’t live a mediocre life. You test the waters and push the limits to see how far you can go every time; you are built differently. I had a lot of untangling and unwiring to do of my own mind. Plagued with genetics of anxiety from maternal generations I had grown accustomed to the “lack” mindset, constantly needing more, never feeling fulfilled or like I had done “enough.” The empowerment came when I took the time to learn why I thought the way I did and went through years of unpacking my entire life piece by piece — to get to the core. Once you learn yourself like that, nothing anyone tells you really affects you — and trust me, it once did very much so.

I was in high school when Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter were on the rise. Everyone wanted to be cool, be noticed, get likes, have followers. I wish I knew then not only would that not be the case for decades to come, but also doesn’t matter in the slightest. The age of “huge followings” and influencer culture is in full effect and the results are, well, dire in my opinion. Why do we need a planet of copycats and look alike all trying to act or be like someone they watch on a screen? Where is the originality, the authenticity? I pray the Age of Aquarius brings it back. This constant consumption of other people’s lives is a bit over the top these days and to be honest, way more harmful than good — borderline toxic. Our society has advanced quickly with this technology, yes, but we must realize (and quickly) that our autonomy and creativity are actively being stripped and replaced with algorithms and Artificial Intelligence. Some may like the sound of that future, others recognize the dangers it poses to society. The lack of autonomy leads to herd behavior, easily programmed and easily swayed. We would become a shell, void of any potential and that is a scary thought.

Autonomy, free-thinking, and rule benders are how society evolves — it’s documented throughout all of history. This time in history is no different and we must open our eyes to all the possibilities so our outcomes are not limited to someone else’s desired reality.