I believe, as a country, we are fairly institutionalised. I certainly became so when I lived and worked in London. It is so easy to be a sheep; to follow the heard, to leave the ultimate responsibility with someone else. All that is left for us to do is sit in our office, get paid and then spend our money in a way that pleases us. Obviously, this is a fairly generalised statement and, by all means, not applicable to everyone but, ultimately, who doesn’t want an easy life.
But, where does that leave us? A nation of politicians who have no idea what is going on, a climate crisis, mental health problems and broken families.
At a very young age we are taught right from wrong, taught how to think, praised for what we do, encouraged to follow our own thoughts, beliefs and views. School then, to a large degree, shakes this out of us- we are boxed into being an academic person, a sporty person, a social person…. we become aware of what our peer group do- we adapt ourselves desperate to fit in, at the cost often of our own personality. Life becomes a tick list of things we ought to achieve by a certain age and if we haven’t achieved these, we feel we are somehow failing.
However, there comes a time when you need to stop, take stock and follow your own judgement- follow what’s right and not wrong. Look on the world not with what you can get out of it but what you can give. My housemistress at School told me to “follow my own judgement and enjoy myself.” I think the two go hand in hand and can do for everyone too. If one keeps one’s self respect, high standards both of yourself and others, motivated by what you do, living with a purpose, then, just maybe, we could live a life of fulfilment, meaning and ultimate happiness.
