With all of the protest commentaries and people choosing to walk away from the banality of a lifestyle, I wanted to pinpoint in words why I want change to occur. Especially after all of the unbelievable government subversion that I am seeing happening around the country (and the world). As a supporter of the Occupy movement, I see that what they’re doing is critical to change. But I, like many others, also see that the current form that this movement is taking will not be able to be sustained forever, no matter how passionate the occupiers are. And that’s not a bad thing because everything changes as it grows. That doesn’t mean that this movement is doomed to failure because it has already succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. We are thinking about what they’re talking about. Their ideals are becoming our aspirations. They have forced the most educated amongst us to acknowledge that they got some things catastrophically wrong. And they are moving others like never before.
My reasons for supporting them are pretty similar, although my targets are much broader. Matt Taibbi describes my feeling best in his post, How I Stopped Worrying And Learned To Love the OWS Protests: “Occupy Wall Street was always about something much bigger than a movement against big banks and modern finance. It’s about providing a forum for people to show how tired they are not just of Wall Street, but everything. This is a visceral, impassioned, deep-seated rejection of the entire direction of our society, a refusal to take even one more step forward into the shallow commercial abyss of phoniness, short-term calculation, withered idealism and intellectual bankruptcy that American mass society has become. If there is such a thing as going on strike from one’s own culture, this is it.”
This sentiment embodies my long-term feelings of discontent with brilliance. After too many years of using my skills for two-dimensional commerce, I am reclaiming my humanity. I am embracing everything that others told me to put aside:
- Standing up to the wrongs of this world
- Writing words that feed my soul and fill my mind
- Creating for the pleasure and not the measure
- Celebrating beauty in all of its forms
- Reaching out to others simply because I connect with them on an inner level
- Making choices that resonate with my core
- Deciding when the intangible supercedes the tangible
The quote at the beginning says it all. I feel the most alive when I am doing something that nourishes my soul and creates “music” that will impact the outer world. In my case, the music is primarily visual instead of auditory. And what I do know is that I’m joining that collective who wants to change the world in their own way. For some, it will be protests. For others, it will be creation. The beauty of it all is that everyone’s work will be needed. Everyone’s work is appreciated. Everyone will be the winners, instead of just a few. And hopefully, we can start to right the many wrongs that exist in this world.
In the end, what moves me? How about the inspiration that a starry sky gives? Or the extraordinary beauty of our diversity? The pure sounds of soul-stirring music? The colors and magic of life? The absolute stimulation of creativity? Or the ability to keep learning and still never know everything? These are just some of things that inspire my passion.
What moves your soul?
