Inspired Ideas

Somewhere along the path of my misguided youth I thought I had it all figured out. To me, life followed a very linear path. You went to school. Got a job. Married a Princess. Had some kids. And lived happily ever after. Life was simple and it was a simple time. At least it seemed that way when I was ten.

See, when you’re ten your world stretches not much farther than you can see down your street. But no matter how far you could see, it always seemed infinite and nothing really seemed impossible. When I grow up I’ll make a gazillion dollars, travel the world and drive fancy cars. And when you’re ten you figure you would accomplish all of that by 25 because 25 seems really old when you’re only ten.

As I grew older and supposedly wiser, something happened, I started dreaming less and worrying more. Those dreams started to fade and I was left with a whole new set of realities, the realities of responsibility. And soon, like I have been over the past few months, I’ve caught myself looking back wondering where it all went wrong.

You realize rather quickly that nothing really works out the way you planned it - life never follows a linear path.

Apparently, I’m not alone.

This seems to be a common problem for those particularly of my generation who seem caught in a constant pursuit of searching and wondering.

So, where did it all go wrong?

I’m not exactly sure.

Proponents of one theory suggest that we are simply inundated with an overwhelming number of choices. But isn’t the freedom of choice supposed to be liberating? Not if the number of choices we face creates paralysis. We have so many choices, that we stop making decisions out of the fear of making the wrong choice.

Think about all of the decisions that you’ve simply put on hold. I’ve certainly been there more times than I would care to admit.

However, I’m not convinced that fully explains why so many of us have this constant feeling of stagnation.

I was reading an article on the plight of Japanese youth in AdBusters the other month. The article talked about how the current generation of youth had lost its way. There was a quote from a Japanese student that caught my attention “we grew up too comfortable to take risks” and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that quote since. It’s also the inspiration for this post (and one of the main reasons why I haven’t been able to write anything in awhile).

Thinking about that quote I started to reflect yet again. I’ll be honest, my life has been relatively easy. One of my mentors told me that the first time I met him. I didn’t take it too well. I went on the defensive. What else do you do when someone tells you you’ve had easy? You throw something back at them like “you don’t know my life, you haven’t walked in my shoes”.

But nearly a year later, I can admit it. My life has been easy. And rightfully so. Like most first generation Canadians my parents worked damn hard to ensure that I would never have to endure the same hardships that they did. A few decades ago they faced a choice - to leave a country that they called home for a foreign land they barely knew. All in the hopes that life would be better, maybe not for them but for their future children.

Makes the choices I face pale in comparison.

I grew up with a relatively easy life. A comfortable life leads you to believe you have something to loose. Thinking you have something to loose means you stop taking risks.

I didn’t need to take risks.

And that’s where I’m wrong.

I’m wrong because if we aim to do anything meaningful with “our one precious and wild life” than we have no choice but to make a choice, to take a risk and to turn some of the opportunities in front of us into realities.

Live well, my friends…

- Nish

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