Robotic ChoicesUpon (re)starting this blogging endeavor, I realized I had alot to say along one general topic trajectory.  This idea is one that crosses many specific topics but is something that I, personally, have tried to avoid more and more over the years.  Its the idea of “systematic living“.  As many of us make conscious decisions in the direction of our lives (and the beliefs we hold) there’s always a pressure to fit into a systematic way of thinking.  We have an array of “ready made” choices and we’re pressured into choosing one of them and living inside that box.

All aspects of our lives get squeezed, pushed, folded, or jammed into one of these ready made boxes. Republican or Democrat.  Vegetarian or Meat Eater.  Christian or Non-Christian, Atkins or Low Fat, Workaholic or Lazy Freeloader, Hippie or Yuppie.  These pre-defined ways of living help us easily make choices.  It makes it easy to see a piece of meat and decide to eat it or not because I’m either a herbivore or a carnivore.  It’s much too difficult, every time we’re presented with a choice to make an unique decision, rather than give a stock answer determined by our “-isms”.

In my view, systematic living and systematic thinking is one of the biggest problems in Western culture.  We’ve been told that we only have x-amount of options and that we must choose one.  I reject this false choice.  My experience and my soul tells me that the options are infinite and that I’m able to, not only choose from these pre-fab decisions, but that I’m able to mix and match without regard for the system.  I’m able to be a chef with the world at my fingertips instead of a consumer who orders off a limited McMenu.

Is this sounding a little idealistic to you?  Maybe a little naive?  If I was an 18 year old kid fresh out of high school, that might be true.  But the longer I live, the MORE I see this reality of “the man” implementing pre-sets on my life.  My daily addition of knowledge only confirms that society praises group-think and punishes individualism.

So, as these next few blog posts move forward, I hope you’ll evaluate some of your life choices and worldviews along with me.  It’s easy for all of us to think that we’re unique and that our choices are our own…but the insane popularity of chain restaurants, pop culture, and Coca Cola betray you.  They instead tell us how the large majority (including you?) only sees the few options laid out in front of them and chooses one without any second thought.