To Each His Own...

The thing about clichés is that while it is quite cool to not conform to one and maybe many of us also spend a lot of time and energy running away from them - they have a way of announcing their existence, most often right in your face. Let us get a bit more definitive here - "...a cliché is a saying, expression, or idea that has been overused to the point of losing its intended force or novelty, especially when at some time it was considered distinctively forceful or novel, rendering it a stereotype."

Another thing about these stereotypes (behavior, not people) is the way in which they assume a sort of undeclared-relevance for a majority of us. Even if not explicitly, they do end up shaping our ambitions, our actions and ideas of what is considered good, not-so-good and so and so forth. I am tempted to use the word societal or cultural norms but I believe that blaming a mass of people for choices that we make would be another form of escapism or sly-disguised-denial.

So what we now have is a bunch of folks chasing a dream or an idea that wasn't theirs in the first place or even if it was, the origin of it was based on nothing more than hearsay or in the best case a good deal of research on personal experiences (available quite easily both in first and in third person) of those who ended up achieving that idea or dream and living it well too.

The real issue however, arises when we start judging people based on these well-accepted-norms. Suddenly, the old friend from the neighborhood becomes a complete loser because he still hasn't managed to switch jobs and still works at the local fax / photocopier shop and plays cricket with the colony kids in the evenings. Or how about the time when you and your girlfriend couldn't help laughing at that friend's wife who did not know the difference between a vodka and a whiskey and thought they were brand names of essentially the same stuff! I mean who does that, rite? And what about that cousin in your hometown who is still preparing for the civil services exams or the bank PO for the nth time because he rates job security higher than job exposure and exit options?

What is really sad is how people get pissed off when these "outliers" seem happy with whatever they are into and hardly give any thought to what all they could have been or could have achieved. Some of these pissed-off people feel obligated to enlighten their "less fortunate" acquaintances about the possibilities that are out there. For them it is almost criminal to not want to go after the "accepted-better-life" and all that comes with it. It is almost like being happy with orange bar for your whole life when the big chocolate cornetto is waiting to be relished!

Does the thought that the bloke might actually LIKE orange bar better ever cross the mind? The rational argument will be - How can you say that unless you have tried both and then decided to stick with the orange bar? True, that does make sense but then why discount the fact that many folks simply DON'T WANT to try another thing and compare? That some folks are just plain and simple at peace with the hand that is dealt to them and really don't make a big fuss of going table to table to see where they stand the best chance to sweep the stakes.

...to each his own. Another cliché...then why is it so hard to understand?