Fine by Me by Amadeus Rex
Fine By Me

An Obsession With Greatness

May 8, 2021, 2:43 AM
Amadeus Rex

Amadeus Rex

Columnist

NOT everything in life needs to be spectacular or impressive to be worthy of appreciation. In the current age we live in, there seems to be a great obsession with standing out or being something greater.

A lot may blame social media for this phenomenon, but I feel like it's more ingrained in the general culture that has slowly been built up until this point, for years and years.

“Look better, think better, do better, be better.” Some may think it's healthy to constantly think this way, claiming that such a mindset is the only path to some form of success in life.

It just so happens that this mindset brings about disappointment both for those who “succeed” and “fail” alike, creating people who feel hopeless in life just as much as it creates disillusioned overachievers.

Seemingly Ordinary

The idea that you need to keep working yourself like an animal just to be recognized as a valid member of society is frightening. It is one thing to be useful, it is another to be usable.

The system is built so that you are raised to believe you must learn, you are taught that you must be useful, and you are used until you are useless.

You are constantly bombarded with the idea that the value of your life is based on your long-term utility, and if you don't keep up, you'll drown.

It's enough to have a job. Even if it's nothing pretty, as long as it's honest work, there's no reason to see less of yourself.

Menial or coveted, tenured or contractual, employed or self-employed: these are all just words and labels trying to imply different perspectives of the same damn thing.

Just because you aren't out there living some fantastic, inspiring dream doesn't mean you're any less valuable than anyone who does. You don't have to change the world to prove you're worthy of living in it.

Dreams are for the sleeping, so make do with whatever you wake up to and be thankful for it, even if it doesn't seem like much at first.

Just make sure you aren't getting exploited and you'll be absolutely fine.

Not All Glitz

Whenever someone famous and considered successful takes their own lives, a part of me deeply aches.

I stop to think about how this deified concept of success does nothing to protect people from the pressures of life and the woes of their own humanity.

It's not exactly a “too much of a good thing” kind of situation. The thing is that no recognition, achievement, or status in life will secure genuine happiness nor protect you from the ways of the world.

A lot of people admire those who are “on top,” but no matter how high you go, you will be just as human as you always were, and just as vulnerable.

It is through this humanity alone that your life is valuable and you are worthy of recognition, even and especially if it is your own.


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