Are You an Island?

…there are days, it seems where we are all our own little islands, each standing for something different with our own individual flags.  And although we might for a brief moment, hop from one island to another or view another’s flag from afar, we in reality are far… from each other.  Maybe that is why our world is so messed up.  With the loss of community we have inherited the gift of ostracism. Our communities of neighbors have been transformed into individuals living through social networks on the internet.  When is the last time you remember getting into the car with your family and just dropping by to visit the neighbors or friends?  Now, if the get-together isn’t driven by some major event, it is deemed that there is no reason to get together at all.  That thought provokes this question in my mind; are we more happy now that the semblance of select-privacy has taken a front seat over a cooperative relationship with friends and family? Or that the motivational banner above us screams, “Life is Really About Us!”  We have all had great times of laughter, but can any of us remember the last time we had a prolonged period of unabated joy?  I for one can not recall such a pure and honest time like when my family or friends got together for a weekend camping trip or an evening out on the porch simply to pass the time away.  With that thought slowly becoming a harsh reality, I am saddened thinking to myself that if I don’t snap awake, if I don’t take those times to do that now, I will surely find myself on my death bed, wishing I had gotten the chance to those very same things I longed for. 

            In life, we have two choices.  One is to lower our head, firm up the chin and head straight into the storms of life, battling as we go, and with each victory moving further and further towards what our perceived dreams, goals, hopes and aspirations might be.  The 2^nd choice is to defer from meeting the storm head on, and pick the unusual route of the vantage point on the hill; measuring what is most important to us and letting the mirage of what people only think “success” looks like pass us by with the sober comprehension of what “success” can really be disguised as; a dangerous distraction that will eat away at the fabric and core of our lives until we are but a shell, wishing we hadn’t missed the train on so many of life’s really important events.

            I am not against the idea of success, but in chasing our goals, have we ultimately lost sight of what is most important?  I for one will pursue many of my personal and professional goals albeit knowing that what is most important to me are the times I miss the most about growing up; the times when we broke away from the daily rituals of the rat race, took off the uniform and invested in an antiquated notion, community.