2001-02-21 - 14:32:12
On Friendship and Survival

Ah, friends ... In the past couple of days I've been disappointed in two, worried about several, and missed contacting yet another on the phone when I was supposed to.

Damn. Nothing else can even threaten to puncture my good mood, than the trials and tribulations of my friends.

Why are the most valuable people (IMHO) always the ones who self-destruct? The ones who constantly cripple themselves along the way, and never seem to fully reach their potential? Several of my friends are like this. They stumble along, lurching from one mess to another, never really happy where they're at; they have a sense that something isn't the way it should be, a longing for a better life, but can't seem to find out how to get there.

Something is seriously screwed up in our society. It seems like anyone gifted with any skill above the norm is set up for ridicule in our system. What this ends up doing is churning out mediocre masses and flawed geniuses. Yes, flawed: entirely deficient in self-esteem, and cursed with an ego that seems to tell them "But I am better than they are, really." These combine to produce a self-destructive method of trying to prove themselves to the world.

Of course, not all are like that; and this is just my own theory on the matter. But I've seen it happen too often. How can you tell these people, "But you ARE valuable!" and make them believe it? One positive person can not drown out thousands of negative opinions. Everyone has to discover for themselves what makes their life worth surviving.

But please: do survive. It has to get better than this!.