My life in a meme

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I saw a meme yesterday that pretty much summed up my life. At the top, it read Why I’m “Antisocial”. Under the header, there were drawings of people with words around them. Two people were labeled ‘Other People’ and one person was labeled ‘Me.’ The words around “Other people” were popular words like Turn Up, Money, gossip, trends, etc. The words around the person labeled “Me” were The universe, Meditation, enlightenment, Peace, love, etc.

It’s not that I am truly antisocial. I have the ability to gossip or turn up but I choose not to partake in those activities. I read a book by Rick Handson, Ph.D with Richard Mendius, MD titled Buddha’s Brain. A very complex read but enlightening none the less. This book was suggested to me because for a while, I wondered if something was wrong with me. I find little enjoyment in being trendy, which in turn made people look at me strangely and call me antisocial. Everyone around me seemed to be happy with staying on top of what’s new and exciting whereas I was stressed about the ever changing ways of life because some of it would change who I am. My questions was always: what’s so important about doing things and being like everyone else?

Buddha’s Brain helped me to understand my thoughts and feelings. The path, that I have been on my whole life, seem to be towards happiness, love and wisdom. The book gave tips on how to be engaged in the world but not troubled by it. Being trendy is a lot of work; work that I am not willing to put in. I enjoy learning about the world but prefer to only engage in what I feel is necessary for my life.

This book helped me to see that nothing is wrong with me except for the fact that I rise above the here and now and aim for a higher meaning of life. So the reasons I am “antisocial” are the same reasons for my growing inner peace, and that’s okay with me.