That said, even as far back Oscar Wilde's era, the concept of "living not just existing" was influencing lives. Personally, I kind of hate that. In fact, I really hate that. There is nothing I think is quite as misleading and sometimes harmful, than that very idea. I do not, in any way, agree with the notion that we have to lead exciting lives in order to be living.
It seems to me that the general message is to do what makes you happy, and that is truly living. Even that doesn't quite sit right with me, but even worse is how incorrectly that message has been interpreted over the years.
There is so much pressure to "live free" and be wild while we're young and I get it, I do, but I think it's unnecessary. While I have absolutely nothing bad to say or any judgment about those who chose to spend their time in more adventurous ways - be it wild nights out or traveling the globe, I don't understand how it has ever become okay to say that those who chose not to, are simply existing, not living.
The core matter comes down to what we consider to be boring, and "boring" is one of my least favourite words. Absolutely nothing is legitimately boring, it always comes down to opinion alone. Which is why telling someone that they're boring, that their lives are only surviving not living, is not okay by me. Why do we consider people to be lower in the food chain than ourselves simply because we don't think their day to day lives are fun enough. To go out of your way to tell another person that their life isn't fun or even enough to be considered living because they don't enjoy the same things that most others do is an insanely harmful thing to do.
Not being fun enough is the bane of my life these days, not because I want more for myself, but because I find myself having to justify my choices when the people around me assume I'm just an incredibly boring person. The truth is, despite the anxiety, I am genuinely happy with the ways I choose to spend my time. I'm a homebody, I don't have any concerns about spending my nights with my family, I don't drink, I don't feel the need to travel the world and I'm perfectly happy being alone. To some, according to the quotes, I'd be considered to be barely existing.
The truth is, I don't remember the last time I was bored. I can entertain myself all day every day and I don't think much about craving human interaction.To be honest, I consider this to be a serious talent. In a world where we crave excitement, I'm extremely good at blocking it all out and living exactly the way I want to. That's all that's important in the end, doing only things that will make you happy (within reason okay). There shouldn't be any judgement towards anything a person chooses to do with their own lives. If it'll make you happy to spend all night out partying, drinking and mingling, then you do that until your heart is content and don't let anyone stop you. But if you want to spend your nights in, wearing pajamas and watching re-runs of sitcoms alone, then you should never ever have to feel like that's not okay either. In the end, you run your own life. and the only way to waste it is by doing things that don't make you happy because you want to be a part of a culture you don't care for.
The same goes for our futures too. There is a lot of judgement towards different career paths. Some are considered to be lower than most because of the pay or their "boring" nature. You career is going to be a part of the largest chunk of your life, never ever do anything that wont make you happy because you've been told it'll be boring, or you wont earn enough. If you dream of being a high powered lawyer or an astronaut for all I care, then do it. If you want to be a librarian or a receptionist or one of those people who count how many cars pass through a certain area, then by God you do it and you never stop.
When everything is stripped bare, when there is nothing left to question, you'll be left with the notion that you either used your time on earth to be as happy as you could be, or that you wish you'd done more things which made you happy. Conforming to what other people want, because of the fear that they'll think you're boring, is never going to be worth it. The people in your lives who truly matter will always see the excitement and the happiness in whatever you choose to do, because they'll see the affect that it'll have on you, and you alone.
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