Culture builds around systems, not the other way around. Once the game’s rules are set, we create a culture to reinforce them. Once we pull back the curtain and see that systems work overtime to nudge us in directions and spaces we don’t want to go, we can see the insidious parts. Capitalism is more than an economic structure. It’s a political one. And it is also a system of extraction. Once you see it, it’s impossible to unsee it.
Dogma is a system of self-evident truths. And what we don’t understand about these self-evident truths is the violent origins of what these systems are built upon.
It most certainly can—to a point. Being stressed about which bill to pay next and being one emergency from taking on water makes it difficult to follow your dreams and passions. Money is a tool. But more importantly, money is a story. Part of that story, for better or worse, is that money has become so central in our lives that it indeed will affect our happiness and well-being.
The standard is not defined. We can glorify what that is—being a pop star, making money, going on exotic trips, etc. But that doesn’t necessarily breed connection. I have met many who have been pigeonholeed into a life they want no part of. It can turn into a prison. I have also met some very passionate people digging for a living. There is something to be said about accepting one’s role in the culture. And another when you paint yourself into a corner.
The famous line from Indiana Jones. Understandably, when you fall into a bucket of snakes, that would freak me out, too. That’s what’s so tricky with trauma—our brains live in this moment even decades after it passed. Our decisions as kids don’t have to be the same decisions we make in the future.
We can spend a lot of mental energy denying the future that is inevitable. Or we can embrace it. Part of embracing the future though is recognizing the uncertainty of it. Which is ironic, since the only sense of certainty we can achieve is here and now.
Independence and isolation is often confused. We can be isolated from the world, free from responsibility and call ourselves independent. But independence isn’t free of responsibility. It’s hand and hand.
Responsibility is easy to ignore when the setting is invisible. For instance, your children’s children—it’s easy to ignore this future generation because there is no voice for them. It isn’t there time. It’s our time. Yet…its a choice(and responsibility) to still care.
Today, scrolling on your phone for eight hours a day is normal. As a kid, that wasn’t normal. In fact, it was unheard of. It’s easy to discount how much “normal” has changed and how it will change again going forward.
Anchors keep us attached to one point. If we are refusing to let go of them, we can’t possibly move on.
Josh Allred's Blog 