I just wanna' be a sheep...bah...bah!

how do i start off this post?

most people are sheep. most people do what others tell them, obey the tenets of polite society, accept the fads and the prefabricated truth, the untruth, hearsay and rumor, and most people don't think too deeply about too many things.

i know quite a few people who, upon hearing of my decision to go veg, would look at me like i just insulted their mother. "chris," they might say, "why over-think this? just go with the food pyramid and you'll be okay!" (believe it or not, i actually had someone say this to me a few years back.) i can try explaining that i'm interested in the energy and weight loss benefits, if indeed they exist for this diet. i can also explain that i would be testing it out, not drawing a contract with myself in stone, but for a lot of people this wouldn't be enough. they simply couldn't/wouldn't understand why i might want to try something like this.

what i don't understand, conversely, is how people can just keep eating what they've always been eating, never questioning what they put into their bodies. do they ever think that the fat stack of carbs they eat every week quite possibly contributes to their health in disagreeable ways? do they ever think of experimenting and trying a new diet to see if they feel better, move better, drop weight, have more energy, etc.? why are they content to just float through life eating what they've always eaten precisely because it's what they always ate??? i don't get it, admittedly.

i'll be the first to admit that i have been sheep-like in many behaviors for a good chunk of my life, my diet being just one of them. in the past two years, however, i've come to realize just how little we question the things around us, ideas and people and manners and customs and norms and standards and the like. concurrent with this realization has run a string of questions that i posited to myself on why i was doing certain things.

why was i accepting the premise that only the elite could lead metro 212? why did i accept the notion that i shouldn't speak up on my own behalf and thereby rock the boat, even with the little things (a trademark of polite society)? why did i accept the fact that i had to be "nice" to be good? why did i accept the idea that i had to throw flowers at the feet of every woman in whom i took an interest, all in the hopes of reciprocity? why did i accept the idea that i couldn't tout my successes? why did i accept the idea that it was somehow wrong of me to make absolute moral statements? why did i accept my diet just because most people ate like i did? why did i accept rude and inconsiderate companions just because i thought it was better to have friends and be diplomatic than not have any friends at all? why, why, why?

because i had morphed into a sheep. when i awoke to this fact i set about trying to sprint as far away from that role as possible. the saddest thing, however, was finding that most of the people around me qualify as sheep, too, and that sheep don't like non-sheep. sheep only want other sheep, and together they want to designate their shepherd.

not all sheep look alike, however. some make louder noises than others, some chew grass away from the herd, some have wool dingier than the rest, but in the end they're indistinguishable where it really counts. two saturdays ago i left church to go to the mall for some time of reflection and prayer. while i sat ruminating on the direction my life needs to take, i couldn't help but be overcome with the notion that the mall had filled with people who were simply going through the motions, feeling powerless to stop the momentum their lives had gained, headed in directions they never wanted to go and solidly apathetic in attempting to wrest themselves free from their slog. how many passed before me who barely lived with any signs of life or individuality? how many got up that morning and proceeded to act out their day like a script handed to them days and months and years ago? how many were living like true individuals, setting their own course and achieving their dreams irrespective of society? very few, i can tell you that.

this is in no way meant to negate the worth of the individual. quite to the contrary, the truth i'm trying to advance is that we all have the capability to break from our sheepish patterns and live a life full of joy and passion and witness the manifestation of our deepest dreams. we all have it, sitting right inside us, but most days close with nary a scratch of that potential lived out. and the more i think on it, the more i ache for people to find the answers and break from their slumber.

how can we go from sheep to leader? from sheep to individual? from sheep to fully living? i'll explore this further in subsequent posts, going deep into the ideas and techniques that can help us live richer and fuller. but for now, i leave you with two questions: (1) why are you doing what you're doing? i don't just mean job here, either. when we think about the "what are you going to DO with your life" question we tend to think of it only in terms of career. again, that's the sheep mentality. someone a long time ago told you to think of purpose and meaning through the filter of how you manage your career. this is one facet, but only one facet, and by no means the biggest. so i'm asking you now to sidestep the old, recycled, herd way of thought and to think anew, only instead of asking "what" you're asking "why?"

for example: why do you eat what you eat? what if a diet existed that could help you feel better? have more energy? lose the weight you know you'd like to lose? what if it didn't mean eating shrubs and drinking water and starving yourself between meals? would you go for it? or would you succumb to the rationale that says the status quo is just fine, so keep on keeping on?

why do you spend your free time like you do? what if you could lead a more fulfilling life by turning off The Simpsons, getting off the couch, and taking up a hobby? what if you could better yourself by reading up on a subject that's always interested you instead of playing video games after work? or, conversely, what if you slowed down a little and gave yourself some play time? what if something existed for you, much slower and lower maintenance, that would help you unwind and relax and recharge for all the goals you've set before yourself?

the opportunities are unlimited, but we cannot wait for them to just come to us out of the blue. a life spent waiting for betterment to knock on our door unprovoked is a life spent doing nothing. you may get lucky and have a revelation some day on your own wherein you see how you can adjust your life for the better, but think of all the other chances you miss by a lack of persistent pursuit. one turning point out of hundreds and thousands of potential turning points makes for a very poor batting average.

so ask yourself right now, where you're seated, "why am i doing what i'm doing?" apply it throughout your day to as many things as you can, and if you don't know why you're currently engaged in a certain pattern of behavior, or if you don't like that pattern, then you need to ask the following question...

(2) is there something i can change with this behavior that can grow me as a person? if you alter your diet so that it provides more energy to you, and that energy can then be used to reach more of your goals, would you be willing to take the courageous step of changing? if leaving your profession would open new, more fulfilling opportunities in another field, would you take the reins? or would you fold and decide to stay put, deeming change too uncomfortable or too risky? how will you act once you know the "why" of your current situation?

once you ask "why am i doing what i'm doing" and get to the root of your life as it is right now, and after you evaluate your answers and attempt an upgrade by pondering the "what can i change to grow as a person" question, then you must decide one of two things: A) are you comfortable following others, doing what you've always done in the many areas of your life, hoping to grow occasionally and by random chance and the pressure of outside events? or B) does the pain of missing opportunities seem to outweigh the comfort of doing nothing? if so, a clear path lies in front of you and a decision to change has become evident.

perhaps you're in a good spot right now, be it your job or your relationships or your health, etc. if you like the answers you get from the first question, if they're what you want, if you feel you can do no better and are currently operating at peak efficiency in the many aspects of your life, then keep doing what you're doing. don't stop now. if, on the other hand, you sense even the slightest room for improvement, why not go for it? why not upgrade yourself, break from the current routine, make yourself stand out from the herd?

why not live to your fullest potential?

here's to today, and getting a new start to make a new you.