Living with people is hard, but necessary.
Humans are social animals with family, friends, classmates, co-workers, acquaintances, enemies and lovers. Some of these relationships are beneficial and intentional. Others are the by-product of being a social animal who is seemingly unable to separate itself from the relationships that unfold as a result of being defined outside yourself. So how do you deal with assholes?
If everyone is an island, and that makes everyone scared inherently, then this loneliness and insecurity is what drives us to make these bridges. The fear and search for identity is what makes us human and social animals in whole.
People simply can’t seem to handle their own shit. Spite and rage, always originating from the inside, build these bridges.
The assault outward to other islands is based on destroying the other bridges people have made. The seemingly universal social fear that validation requires makes these island assaults a nasty and effective combat.
So how are you supposed to deal with this kind of thing? How are you supposed to deal with breakups and lost friends, the angry judgment of parents or the paralyzing hushed rumor mill of people you hardly know?
It’s not easy. It’s true that you’re an island. But the rest of the world is not a mainland. It’s nothing but other islands populated by one.
Why do you do the things you do? Is it an altruistic desire to help people? Is it a selfish view that you must get the world before it gets you? Anywhere in between? No (expletive) idea maybe?
These seem like polar opposites, but they provide the same problem — the need to get your information about yourself and the world from others. This is how assholes get in. The assholes have an island just like you, but there’s no reason their island should have anything to do with your island.
You can’t escape from your island view and no one can ever, unfortunately, stand on your island the same way you do. The less offensive and more comprehendible realities of the island view come from how personal experience leads to differing tastes in music, literature, food and anything else.
Some people can’t be saved. Your grandmother may never pick up a fantasy or science fiction novel because “it’s not real.” There’s nothing that will ever change that.
But does this make their opinions more or less wrong or valid? No. It makes it the opinion that can only come from island view.
These views of your island have nothing to do with your island itself. You have a ridiculous amount of power to build that island to heights that you alone determine.
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Never forget that your life is your own every single second you’re alive.
Simply recall that the entire world can think you’re scum, and it can’t and won’t stop you from doing what is right.
