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Hallo
<$firstname$>,
I
thought I had seen it all.
But
now we just stood there, mesmerised : right in front of
St. Jakob church on the medieval paving in the old town
of Villach, a young man - alone, totally absorbed
- played his guitar and at the same time juggled an array
of electronic devices with his feet, making some really
beautiful instrumental music. Multiple instruments, mind
you!
The
contrast to his venerable surroundings couldn't be bigger.
He turned out to be an Australian in Austria and personally
handcrafted his unusual four-string guitar from an old,
precious piece of piano. He composes his music as he plays
along and sells it on CDs.
An
unconventional fellow, like many others we saw at Villach's
annual StreetArt Festival last week : very friendly, utterly
passionate about what they do, and very non-conformist.
I like people like that.
For
adults it takes courage, though, to be different and stick
out from the crowd - I wonder why sometimes.
After
all, it's a fact that we are all different - nobody is exactly
like anyone else, not even 'identical' twins. And
that's a good thing : just imagine how boring life would
be if we were all the same.
If
it is natural to be different, why are most of us afraid
to show and express our uniqueness?
Because
from the moment we are born, there is enormous pressure
on us to 'fit in', to behave in a way that's 'acceptable'
to the people around us.
And
there is a good reason for that, too : the urge 'to belong',
to be part of a group is also natural for human beings.
In the early days of mankind, nobody could survive on his
own - the different skills of the members of the tribe,
combined to achieve a common objective, defined the success
of the community, and still do.
So
there is no conflict here : everyone makes a unique, valuable
contribution and lives happily ever after ...
If
only it were that easy : if we want to fit in, why
does it take pressure to be accepted in a group, and where
does it come from?
Most
of the influence to conform is well-meaning and comes from
family and friends at first, meant to help you do well in
life. They taught you the facts of life, what worked and
what didn't, and helped you avoid many painful experiences.
Later,
peers and superiors largely with their own agenda join in
the chorus and steer you in a direction that suits them
best, rather than having your interest at heart.
That's
where the pressure sets in : different interests are trying
to dominate ... it's all a power-game!
Wherever
we turn, there is a swarm of institutions and lobbyists
these days telling us that the world is a dangerous place
- selling us a safe berth in their harbour and convincing
us that we can't live the dreams we are having.
Many
of our cultural influences are strong, others are subtle
- we need to be fully aware that part of their mission is
always to keep us in the herd.
Staying
alert is not easy because our natural filters against the
information overload in the media cannot cope anymore -
we can't switch off altogether to escape this game, so we
develop an attention deficit to protect ourselves as best
we can.
Initially,
we have set up our social, commercial and political structures
in a way that used to enable a small group of naturally
courageous, resourceful and talented leaders to guide a
majority of followers.
But
with the power of leadership comes responsibility and I
get the impression that personal accountability often gets
lost these days, somewhere along the way to the global village.
Leaders
don't seem to think of their followers as individual persons
anymore - for them they are groups, markets and voters ...
herds. It's a lot easier to direct and manipulate a few
uniform, labelled masses than to convince six billion people
individually to buy the flavour of the month or go to war.
And
the prestige of leadership depends on followers - if
there are no followers, where does that leave the leaders?
Every
self-professed expert hands out his glossy brochures these
days and makes us believe that he alone has the power to
make our dreams come true, whilst the decision to follow
is always made by ourselves.
In
whose hands is the real power then?
Value,
just like beauty, is in the eye of the individual beholder.
There is nothing wrong with being selfish, in fact it is
a lesson we all have to learn : to listen to ourselves and
to our own innermost desires in the face of so many other
options offered to us.
I
am not suggesting that there is a conspiracy to prevent
us from making our own decisions, but our generation has
been conditioned in such a massive way that we no longer
recognise the influence of a belief-system that denies the
importance of personal feelings.
Ready-made
ladders are put up for us everywhere and we are hypnotised
to climb the rungs en masse - only to find out at
the top that the ladder is leaning against a wall we never
wanted to be on.
Don't
get me wrong : I am not condemning this system, just observing.
We have all agreed to follow the rules of this game, we
chose our place in the cage - and now it's difficult to
see the exit, although it is wide open.
But some do and get unplugged, like the young musician at
Villach's StreetArt Festival - I just love it!
<$firstname$>,
please forward COMPASS to anyone who would benefit from
publishing or translating newsletters, articles, webpages,
books & eBooks, press releases, letters, brochures or
any other well-written material in either English or German.
Until
next time, all the best from :
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