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by Felicia Stevenson (writer), Gatineau, Quebec, November 03, 2011

Credit: Felicia Stevenson
You aren't the problem. The box is the problem. Break the box!!!

Very few people think for themselves nowadays... Too many rely on what they've seen and what they've been told.

I look around me, and I see people working 60 hour work weeks. They make good money, have big houses and big tv's. They make big purchases and carry huge credit card debt. They go through the motions, never really stopping to think about whether or not the life they lead is fulfilling them, or whether they are happy. The dreams they had as children have long been forgotten, and they have a drone like acceptance of what their lives have become, and of what society imposes upon them. When the impossible demands of the outside world become too much to bear, instead of wondering whether too much is being asked of them, they turn to self hate. They try desperately to fit into "the box", convinced that they will be a failure if they can't. When their bodies collapse on them due to all the stress they have piled on to themselves or allowed others to impose upon them, they feel ashamed, like they have somehow done something wrong.

I have asked the following question to many different people: "If God truly exists, would this be His vision of what life should be, working ourselves to the bone five to six days a week and being too tired on our time off to actually enjoy the many splendors He's created for us?"

Invariably, the answer has been "No", but by the same token, none have done anything to improve their situations. Too often, the reason for not pursuing their own heart's desires is money. Too much debt, too many financial sacrifices would have to be made, and they'd rather be miserable than have to downsize their home / car. Which, is in and of itself, the biggest problem with society today. Money rules the world.

We have become a consumer society. We create needs for ourselves by always striving for something bigger, or better, and have been braiwashed into believing we need this "x,y,z" new revolutionnary product. We can no longer just be content with what we have, we always want more. Constantly needing to upgrade to the newer and better model either for instant gratification or as a status symbol. On an unconscious level, I think this is mainly because we are, at the core, not happy. How could we be? We worry incessantly about what others think of us but spend way too little time reflecting on what we think of ourselves. We ignore our intuition and block out our inner voice, all in an effort to "fit in" and be "normal". So we use retail therapy to make ourselves feel better for a while, when in reality all we're doing is applying a band-aid to an ever growing problem.

I have been guilty of that kind of reasoning. Especially in dealing with my mental health problems, I refused to accept that while I had the intellectual capacity for certain jobs, I did not have the mental capacity to deal with all of the associated pressure. I saw myself as a failure, because I could never achieve what was asked of me, or what I felt was expected from me. What I have been most guilty of was not listening to my intuition, or my inner voice. Wanting so desperately to be considered "normal", as if normal was such a great thing to be, and as if normal could even be described. I have drifted through life, taking whatever came to me, instead of pursuing what I truly wanted.

I fought against who I am for over 13 years, and it has gotten me absolutely nowhere. I have bent over backwards, tried to fold myself in four, done everything I could to fit in the box, but I don't. For years, I believed I was the problem. There had to be something wrong with me. If other people were able to fit in the box, I should be too. For years, I have racked up failure after failure, and my self-esteem has suffered immensely because of it. Recently, it occurred to me that I'm actually only a small part of the problem in this equation, the damn box is the main problem!

So I've decided to step out of the box. I've even decided that the box isn't really a good place to be. "Box" people are not the one's that have shaped and changed this world. People like me, who dare to speak their minds, are the one's who have affected change throughout the centuries. Galileo is definitely my favorite example in this case. It didn't matter that everyone else believed the Earth was flat. He didn't change his story when they tortured him and threw him in jail. He had the conviction that he was right, and couldn't deny what he knew to be true. I've often used this example when I've found myself alone on my side of the fence. Just because everyone disagrees with you, it doesn't mean that you aren't right.

I want to see more people around me step out of the box. I want to see people start thinking for themselves, and speaking out against the injustices in our society. I want other people to want to see change, and to actually do something to make change happen, instead of just agreeing that there's a problem and then returning to their everyday routines.

The problems of the world may seem like they are too big to be solved, but that's only true if we don't band together and find solutions. We need to stand up against the fact that we are taxed at every turn. We need to stand up to big business who sell us products that cost them $3.00 to produce for exhorbitant amounts. We need to stand up to those who make us believe we need to fit in the box so that they can continue to live like kings while we continue to be their loyal subjects.

We just need to stand up and break the box.

Read more articles on: life , society , inspiration , consumer , opinion , revolution , change

Felicia Stevenson is a writer for BrooWaha. For more information, visit the writer's website.