Purposeful cultural choice

Culture isn't something most of us consciously choose. It's just something that is there as we grow up; something, like air, we don't notice and take completely for granted.

On one hand, that culture is powerful; it can give you a sense of place, purpose, goals, and generally be a framework that's seamlessly woven into your life's decisions, small or large.

On the other hand, culture is also a set of blinders, restricting what you perceive in such a way that you usually don't know what you're missing.

I grew up surrounded by conflicting cultures, and even as an adult, I had the [mis-]fortune of being all too aware of their differences and how I didn't quite fit according to their "norms". I'll spare you another treatise on the downsides, but it's not all bad. It's also incredibly liberating, if you think about it.

You're free to consider everything, free to mix and match and indeed, create as you see fit. As you feel fit. You're in a position to willfully choose what sort of culture you want, and what your place is. You're free to choose for yourself, unburdened by expectations of the faceless "norm"

I've chosen this path I'm on; I've chosen to stand apart (or more accurately, to remain apart), and every day I choose, consciously or otherwise, the person I want to be. I work my ass off to make those ideals a reality, to make my home a place of sanity and peace. I work hard to grow myself, to continually make myself more than I am.

But without those roots, that cultural background, it's all too easy to lose sight of what you're after. When you are your own culture... when your resolve falters, so does your compass. I lose both momentum and direction.

But it always comes back to the principle and inner drive of self-improvement. It's something I both respect and seek out in others, a sort of "like attracts like" thing. But it's more visceral than that. As I've aged, I've noticed my patience for those who are content in their mediocrity has waned considerably. Why waste my time with people who don't value their own time? Why expend my life on/with those who place no value on their own?

Sure, it's nice to stop and smell the roses, but.. they are sort of like the poppy field in The Wizard of Oz. It's all easy to lose sight of the fact that while yes, it is a beautiful field of flowers, but dally too long and you will sink into oblivion.

Then again, is that really so bad?

Yes, I believe it is.

Perhaps it makes more sense to incorporate the beauty you find along the way into your journey, much like the countless plants and flowers Kim's nurtured in our house. Carry beauty wherever you go, and you won't be fooled by the costume-jewelry pretty that disintegrates when the surface is scratched.

This is how some people grow more beautiful as they age while others grow ugly. A lifetime of self-improvement is beautiful indeed.

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