The voice of reason

Unlike the paradox of the uncommon nature of common sense, we all seem to do exceedingly well with regard to reason. We all manage to live our lives with a painstakingly great sense of reasoning, and logic.

We postpone certain ideas and jobs in favor of the ‘that makes more sense’ job in front of us. We decide to put on hold certain exciting plans in life because it just ‘isnt the right time now’, which is incidentally always between a year and five away no matter when we think of it. We make all the right decisions and live reasonable lives.

In short, our life mimics the life of mundane reason and maturity that increasingly improves with age. Also in short, to compensate for all of this lack of excitement, we live our lives through the eyes and lives of others – very much like the idea of when you wear an Armani suit or a Chanel dress, the essence of Armani or Chanel rubs off you and you feel good about yourselves.

Or when we go and watch movies to escape from where we are and for that few hours we become part of this other life – that of the main protagonist in the movies. For those few moments we run away from life in order to live it. The irony.

Ever wonder why ‘Friends’ is one of your favorite comedies of all time.

We align our minds with those persons we would have liked to live like, be it a Kurt Cobain or Bear Grylls or an Anthony Bourdain, Richard Branson, or that coolest guy or the hottest PYT today – basically anyone from leading DJs, travel/food show hosts to adventure daredevils, sports personalities, actors, politicians and other crazed celebrities who have dared to do and be more than what they were they could be.

The right and reasonable decisions help us lead exactly the lives that they must – right and reasonable. (The same thing everyone else is trying to do for some reason!)

Each of us are doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results - better ones at that. We press the breaks constantly and wish the car would accelerate. All because the sticker on the break says ‘accelerator’. We don’t question the sticker because we have been told that the sticker is right. And so in our quest we do everything but question the sticker.

The only thing that really differentiates the people you want to be like from the people that you are or are slowly but surely turning into, is that they choose to disregard the voice of reason sometimes and you don’t.

They see the bright red ‘skulls and bones’ sign all over the ‘right and reasonable decisions’ and clearly read the word ‘Danger’, while you clearly see the same danger sign and treat it like we do most things we are afraid of (like old age, death), with denial.

'That happens to other people. It cant possible happen to me. Everyone else must have missed something, but im doing everything right! Its only a matter of time’.
We refuse to question the sticker.

Only it does happen. And before you know it, life is passing you by and you are in your mid 30s and 40s and still living your life through another’s – wondering ‘I’m doing everything by the book! Where did I go wrong?’

What does your voice of reason say today?