Monday, August 22, 2005 - Admiring how one Individual can have an Impact

unfortunately it often takes the loss of something very valuable to you that you stop and take note of the world around you in a different way. often we go around thinking of the world in terms of only ourselves and how it affects us and the immediate people around us. It's a natural inclination and somewhat of a progressive influence to the world, but an attitude like that doesn't contribute to the more profound aspects of a life worth living.
More people would be better served by a few individuals behaving more selflessly, perhaps not all of the time, but in moments of life when greatness doesn't seem like it should matter.

It follows, than, that by virtue of particular traits of their character, individuals can influence the fate of society. Sometimes it is the most unexpected people who can make the biggest impact, the person who by demeanor or appearance does not seem destine to be catalyst for change. Its for that reason it is often argued that quirks of your personality, the inclinations that you have which make you stand out from the masses are in fact a detriment to society. It you get rid of the dissimilarities there is a more equal playing field, with no wandering differences to keep different "kinds" of people separate.

But your individuality should not create your own insular world around you that then irrevocably separates you from the general masses. Rather, you should be opening up those aspects that make you different from society, to the rest of society, instead of pitting yourself against them. An individual who doesn't necessarily use the same tools to pass judgment on the world around him accepts that which is society and opens up your eyes to another way of understanding the world and society around you.

Mike "Buttercup" Weinberg, lived life with such vivacity and color, he constantly pushed his own limits, questioned conventionality, but he never strove for "greatness" in the historical terms of the word. Because he was all about taking the biggest bite of life, there was nothing you could do that would make him pass judgment on who you were, what your lifestyle was, your beliefs, your taste, nothing mattered, cause he probably had tried it first and would at least admire you for trying...

When you encounter someone who uses their differences to accept people for theirs, rather then alienate them, therefore creating a cohesive unit around themselves, they DO have the ability to impact society. And are you not, for the impact they had on your life, obligated to further create positive change in society? MBW in his singular vision has often caused me to take a look at the world me in a different light, now, in his absence more then ever. In deference to socialism, it IS possible for one individual to impact the fate of society in a positive way, even if those ripples aren't on a global scale, but just affect the people reading this right now.

this is the same kid who was once approached by a guy who had a business card that said, "guru maker" and he laughed, shrugged and said "dude, I'm already a guru..."