Thanatos

Comparison has become human nature. I don't know
if it has always been like this or not. Comparison can be used for good
in certain aspects. However, people more and more everyday are using
it as a way to gauge their success in life. When I say that I have
truly become successful in life, it is because I am completely content
with my life and where it is going. Instead of comparing my life, and
more specifically the material things I have, to other people's lives,
I measure my amount of happiness overall to gauge my success.

But there's alot of people out there who just don't seem to get it. They constantly want to compare themselves to others, be "one up"
on everybody else, "keeping up with the Jones", so on and so forth. Some people are obsessed with it... and I think that's sad. Most will
never realize that no matter how hard they try, none of that will ever
really make them happy.

And since humans are in a constant state of comparison, it brings
me to the subject matter at hand, what I like to call... The "crabs
in a bucket" syndrome. I'm sure some of you can see where I am
going with this. Have you ever seen crabs in a bucket? There are a
few that sit in there and don't move around much because they are
blindly content with where they are. Then there are some crabs that
realize the prison that they are in and attempt to free themselves
by trying to crawl out of that bucket. THEN... you have those crabs
that see the ones trying to escape and they pull them back down
into the bucket.

It's almost no different with people in today's society. Those of
us who see this "prison" that we are in, work hard to free
ourselves from it. We strive to create a life where we are truly
happy, without any regard for the "rules" that society has set
forth.

Then you have those who have the syndrome. They try to tell you
what is normal, how to live your life. But the most dominant trait of
the syndrome is that they try to pull you back from being successful.
They shun and discredit anything that you try to do out of the norm
that might actually make you happy.

The truth is, these people are extremely discontent with their own
life, whether they are consciously aware of it or not. They are
apart of this prison, and feel obligated to live by all the rules
of society. They see people who are working hard to be really happy
in life and they compare it to their own lives. This in turn, makes
them feel even worse.

Here's a quote of mine that came about as I was discussing a
personal matter with a friend: "In today's society, you only have
to measure how far you've gotten on your path by counting the
number of people who supposedly hate you for no reason." I had to
make sure that I put the word "supposedly" in there because there
actually is a reason, and it is jealousy.

So instead of taking that comparison and those feelings to help
turn their life around so that they can be on the right path, they
try to make themselves feel better by trying to pull you back down
by telling you to just follow along with what everyoneelse is doing
and stop trying to be so different. And when you don't, some will
even start "talking trash" and discrediting you in the public eye.
Does it really work? I'd like to think not.

To the people who are on the right path to escaping from this
prison, I say to keep working hard and do not worry about what
anyone else says or thinks. You will soon be truly happy and there
will be many more of us to follow. Continue creating your own
realities, for we will soon be considered the norm... and change the face of society as we know it.