Cage of the Name

My dinner, dress, associates, looks, business, compliments, dues,
The real or fancied indifference of some man or woman I love,
The sickness of one of my folks- or of myself... or ill-doing...
Or loss or lack of money... or depressions or exhaltations.
They come to me days and nights and go from me again.
But they are not the Me myself.
- Walt Whitman

This is an interesting age.
25. A moment in life when we begin to pursue a particular lifestyle, set on a course, establish our self in a job, or begin to settle down.
It is a confusing age - a time when much is sacrificed.

At 25, we begin to call ourselves names... doctors, parents, scientists, cowboys, philosophers, bodybuilders, leaders, painters, musicians. We feel we have a grasp on things, a grasp on our self, on our very tiny world. It all starts when we see a person we want to mimic or replicate; and so we pursue the life that they have. We, consciously or subconsciously, adapt ourselves to a particular model - and our lifestyle begins to narrow. We begin to lose balance. Its a slow process, but eventually, we replace curiosity with monotony. An entire world of bright, incredible pursuits, becomes shadowed by our own blanket of daily routine. One day we stop climbing trees.




Life is broad.
There is so much to do. There is so much to become, and experience, and touch, and do! I watch it calmly.. I hate that I watch it calmly.

When I give myself a name, I put limitations on what I am willing to do in life. I am saying, "I won't go there", or "I can't do that", not because I truly can't, but because it is out of character. My security no longer rests in truth - but comes from the safety of knowing what I can and can't do. I Do I dare be original? Sometimes it is pitiful how very little will suffice.
I see people day to day, and we seem so morbidly similar. We have the same appearance, the same job, the same lifestyle, we do the same things in the same places - absolute predictability.
Do I not know that life is at my fingertips? Am I afraid of freedom? It is easy to define myself when I fit a model that 1000000 people have already filled.. safe and easy. Damn.

There is something more, something better and infinitely more beautiful.
There is balance - and the pursuit of many pursuits.
Do all you can do, and do it well.
Today I will paint.






(Andrew Tipton)