Another Your Heart Today concert wrapped up; extremely tough crowd (but only because they didn’t know how to react I hope)
Pics at the gallery
This is actually the end of this post, but it would be a good segue to a topic I’ve always wanted to blog about. Continue reading at your own peril.
On a personal note, it was one of the more fulfilling trips I had with the group – not really because of the concert, but because of the [more serious] chats I had with old friends.
My personal views on how I tackle “life,” though unorthodox, have always been vindicated when observing the “goings-on” in the lives of these people (and practically any person “struggling” for whatever reason). While their issues vary drastically, I can’t help but notice that I too have experienced and sometimes even continue to experience them one way or the other – the only difference is I’m still happy overall precisely because of how I choose to deal with such trials.
Having said that, I have to admit; that feeling of vindication never gets old.
Everything I’m seeing from the outside is so predictable – bordering on amusing. Still, it breaks my heart that this amusement and vindication would have to be at the expense of seeing good people have to go through such anguish. And because I never was a fan of unsolicited advice and meddling, unless they ask for my opinion, I would just have to see everything unravel. Sure, I may blog about it here and there, but the way I’ve always written these sort of posts were always in context of how my mind reacts to seeing experiences of other people, not because I need them to hear it and hopefully knock some sense into them (but that would be a bonus – after all, only good can come out of that)
I’ve always believed that if a person relies too much on others’ opinions, they’re simply not “there” yet. Opinions and analyses should only present all the possible angles… no more, no less. Ultimately, you alone would still have to decide what’s best for you. Be mindful of how different this is from relying on, or being influenced by other people’s opinions – as the latter, quite frankly, is for people who can’t think for themselves – so they rely on others to do the thinking for them.
Naturally, the people they tend to “turn to” are too similar to them – which is why they resonate with each other easily. And while that’s good for fun, fair-weathered times, when the going gets tough, they’re just as clueless as the next lost soul – and nothing gets fixed. You only get a bunch of ego-stroking support groups that will end up trying to vilify the side which they don’t agree with, instead of actually fixing things. So it’ll just be a case of monkey see – monkey do. And people who willingly go that route literally do not deserve to be “bailed out” of their trials.
I actually have no problems saying this to even my closest friends. One thing I like to do is whenever I’m in disagreement with someone about a fundamental approach in life is to post a challenge to the other. Assuming I feel very strongly about my position, and I recognize as well how strongly they feel about theirs, I simply hint at this idea: “Sige lang, pagpatuloy mo lang yang yan paraan mo… tingan natin san ka mapapadpad.” (“fine, you do it your way and I’ll do it mine – then lets see down the road who’s in a better “situation”.
And like I said, being vindicated never gets old 🙂
I guess at this point, I feel compelled to address people who think they are “credible” simply because they have so much “experience.” Full disclosure; I also make it a point to remind myself of this: Having experience on any issue, is worth jack shit if you never resolved them. The whole “been there, done that” adage can only go so far, what does count is “Been there, done that, and conquered that motherf@cker x-times over!”
So before we start announcing “credentials” as to being a source of sage advice, make sure you can walk the walk without regretting anything. Because let me tell you, if you get to that “spot,” a whole lot of issues that were once so big, will look very, very shallow in the greater scheme of things.
Ultimately, there’s only so much one can do to influence the things around them, until they start looking inside themselves and start “aligning” to a more practical view of life, I really can’t see them getting out of their respective “ruts” anytime soon – and that would have to be their own choice to make… no one else’s.
Oh well, that’s just the way the ball rolls.
Amen. Yun lang. hehehe dyan tayo nagkakasundo eh.
Simple lang di ba?
There are two things lang that can affect whatever “issues” a person my have (and this is applicable to absolutely any issue):
Both are legitimate things to take into account, and you’re lucky if you can it get both ways. But assuming you cannot (which is 90% of the time), the question is simple:
Which “number” do you want to be the basis of living your life? What you want? Or what other people want for you?
In fact when asked that way, it even makes it so braindead simple – that it baffles me how people can be so “confused” or “affected.”
So let me ask it in more simpler terms:
Who’s life are we talking about again? Cuz, last time I checked, it was probably OURS… not theirs… not anyone else’s.
Or in context of insecurity:
How much does public opinion matter to you? Is it enough to compromise what you think will make you happy? Is it so important that it has the power to make you hide your true self just so you can get “approval” from others?
I’d rather follow what I want because at the end of the day, regardless of how other people feel about it, what will matter when I die is if I was happy with my life – and to me, any form of “compromise,” by nature, means that I’m not doing something I truly wanted to do – and that is something I’ll truly regret at the end of my days.
hay carlo and oli. i agree. 😉