Sep
14
Resistance is futile
Filed Under Growing Up |
When are you happiest memories?
The majority of people would say, “When I was a kid!” or “Back in the Old Days, when things were good.” And what is the primary objective of childhood? Growth. What is the harbinger of the end of childhood? Adulthood.
- You’re old enough to know better.
- You’re not a kid any more.
- Congratulations! You graduated top of the class!
In other words, celebrate! The learning period is over! You no longer need to grow! Your knowledge of the world is enough that you will be able to live like the rest of us! Welcome to the ranks of Adulthood - Where you’ll be too busy worrying about dying to think about living.
The last time I remember being fantastically happy was when I was learning a language. It was amazing, nothing was too much trouble. I made changes to my work regime, I changed my spending habits so I could afford to go to class, I fantasised about travelling to the country in which the language was spoken. It was a blast. Until I started telling people about it.
- You’re doing what?
- Why would you want to do that?
- Isn’t it expensive?
- When would you ever need to use it?
- I could never find the time to do that!
You get the idea. I bet you could even add some to the list that you are thinking right now! If you’re an adult, chances are you have Adult Thinking Technology. It’s what you get when you are exposed to masses of adults who already have ATT. It’s the worrying. It’s the Competing with the Jones. It’s the continual focus on the financial difficulties of living as an adult. It’s believing that the world is actually like the TV news - that thieves and brigands are waiting just around the corner with a picture of you in their pocket and it’s only a matter of time before they find you.
It’s how we kill our children. Somewhere along the line something happens in all of us, something sinister. We start to force children to change into adults. Santa-Claus isn’t real. The Tooth Faerie is really your mother. Life is serious, stop fooling around and pay attention in school. You don’t want to be like uncle Jeff do you? And the clincher, - If I had the opportunities you have I could have done so much more with my life. (This last one is just so damn evil in so many ways it defies logic that a loving parent would even contemplate saying it at all) What is happening is that the adults need to convince the children that the growing period is coming to an end. That resistance is futile. That there is no better way.
The reason adults do it is because they themselves don’t want to know that they have given up. The idea that life plateaus in adulthood is comforting. It’s nice to know that you can take it easy. That your situation is not your fault. Those people who keep succeeding; they’re just trouble makers, they never grew up like we did, they are only able to do it because they had rich parents, went to the right schools or were just lucky in life. What a load of tripe! Life is hard because adults make it so. They create situations for themselves that very neatly fit into their perception of reality. More importantly they do it without realising it, without wanting to know they are doing it, and consequently they congregate. Little groups are formed, they grow and before you know it, you have an entire community ready and willing to accept and convert new arrivals. Can anyone say: Caste System, Socio-economic grouping, Target Audience.
It works for the successful ones too. There are all kinds of ways to work within your own limits, just think of your best friend. But whatever you do, don’t think about yourself.
Those of us with ATT have just shut off.
It’s ok, they might join us later, then again… they might not.