We don’t like to think of ourselves as such, but even in the free world we are slaves for much of our lives. When we are young we are bound by the schooling system and are under the control of our parents. As adults, we are tied to our employers because we are the slaves of credit cards and other kinds of debt, and credit cards hold sway because we live our lives under the thumb of sophisticated advertising and the expectations of others (who have also fallen into the trap of ‘must have’ marketing).
We try to keep up with the Jonses who are trying to keep up with the Kafoops who base their lives on the Lowells who in turn look up to the Cabots.
We are enslaved by many things. Fashion. Sugar. Alcohol. Nicotine. Other substances. Addicted.
Anyone who breaks out of this stupidity is considered a maverick—or a hippie or some other kind of alternative-living dropout.
We are so influenced by others, but what if they are wrong? What if, by ourselves, we could land on the right track and give ourselves an abundant, brilliant life not encumbered by what others think?
I read a lot about food. I read about people who go paleo, vegan, low GI. I read recipes from the all-raw fanatics and some from the moderation-in-everything brigade. But I believe that being a blind follower of anything means giving up your independence and thinking ability. It hands your personal power to others and opens the doors to corruption. So I’m not any of those things. I don’t have a label pinned to my lapel.
Having said that, I admit I’m chained to some things (chocolate comes to mind), but I see myself as a thinking slave. I know what’s happened but I also believe I can free myself by changing my perception of what I need to be who I am. And chocolate does not define me.
It is perhaps when we are open to other ways of living that we have an opportunity to break out of the vicious cycle of our own society’s forms of slavery. When we look at how other societies live, we can start to see more clearly our own society’s mores and how they have shaped our thoughts and consequently our actions.
We have enshrined the concept of freedom, yet we live our daily lives in thrall. It’s time for that to end … time for us all to do a little of our own thinking.