LIVING IN THE SHADOWS

Life, I’ll say is a state of living with the moving time. It’s quite unpredictable how it goes but we go on living anyway. What life means to you, totally means different for everyone else but it goes on, of course, it doesn’t mean it’ll go your way. Either way, you have to keep living.

That being said what exactly is life to you, what are your plans, dreams and expectations for your life? Are you part of those who have decided to take each day as it goes or you rather take charge of it (if you do decide to charge, then I want to hear about it)?

I used to be on the side of taking charge, I would plan my life for each year, starting by writing down my goals just like my life coach had mentioned. Each day had a list of timed activities aimed at catapulting me to my goals. It was different each year, some years it included getting to a certain point in my career, and body goals. Other times, it was learning a new skill or making a charitable impact (maybe conscience driven).

Sometimes these goals succeeded, other times they didn’t. and that was one of the most frustrating parts of life. When things don’t go your way, life somehow gets harder than it should be. I have been in that phase and I wouldn’t recommend it.

On the other hand, whenever one succeeds at those life plans they’ve made, it’s such a beautiful victory. It of course feels good to get whatever you want, especially in a volatile and unpredictable situation. This brings me to my definition of what life is.

“life is a process of going through time in a place of unpredictable reality”

Yes, I said it. Life is unpredictable and it’s real! We are born, we eat (because we need food), we grow and we die. But here is the scary part of it, you might go through all these processes, striving so hard and still ending up living in the shadows. Forgotten in a blink of an eye, while the rest of the world moves on. Oh, I forgot to add, we need to work too, to at least afford the bare minimum we need to survive. Except of course, you plan on being homeless and sick out in the cold(horrible).

I think nobody wants to die a “nobody”, we all want to die being “somebody”. Somebody who is loved, somebody who is revered, somebody who is feared, somebody who is known, somebody who is knowledgeable. It could be any of these, we all just want to be remembered.

But does that really define you, being somebody in the eyes of people? How does that work? There should be more to living than human validation. Some come up with the argument that they have no one waiting for them out there, so they don’t give a care about the world. but give them the world stage and once they have a feel of that, it’s like a drug that they would want to feel high on just one more time.

This stage of course could be anything. It could be a secret fantasy or dream of how they wanted their life to be and sometimes when we get a little glimpse or hold of this, we refuse to let go.

Now let’s talk about those assistants and others who might be living in the shadow of their bosses. These are quick to say “well my boss is the one receiving all the attention not me”. That’s right, except of course you’re partly living “vicariously” through them. Let me give you an idea of how you do.

The makeup artist puts on the best and most appropriate makeup for the model or artist, the fashion designer whose art is showcased through the body of the artist, the assistant makes out all the needed itineraries for their bosses. Look, when these people are pushed forward because of your work or your assistance, I know you feel a little furry in your stomach. You have accomplished something you tell yourself, even if no one notices. So, do you think you are still in the shadows?

Living “vicariously” through the achievement of others by our works, words, and little inputs just makes a little difference. Does the whole world need to know the little things that you do? Do we really need to know that you brought coffee for your team members? I’m sure they see you, even if they don’t, aren’t you seeing yourself?

Well, are you truly living in the shadows? As I said in the beginning, it’s life, such an unpredictable journey that we are forced to embark on anyways. You make a difference and I think that’s what really matters. But take my word or don’t, you decide.

What do you think? How you want to live yours, it’s totally up to you.