“The first and most important thing an individual can do is to become an individual again, decontrol himself, train himself as to what is going on and win back as much independent ground for himself as possible”
― William S. Burroughs
Listen, do you hear them? Can you hear those well-meaning voices telling you how you should do what you’re doing or not to do it at all or perhaps what you should be doing instead? After all don’t you want to fit in? Don’t you want the acceptance of others? I once worked with a woman who told me that she believed that whatever society deemed proper she would do. If everybody rubbed blue mud in their navels, then she would to. I didn’t appreciate at the time the ironically unique illustration for her philosophy that she chose. Instead her lectures on propriety made me dress and act even more outré or at least as much as I could get away with without losing my job. Gradually I came to realize that if everything I did was an act of rebellion than nothing was. Rather than being an individual I was an anti-robot reacting against conformity and thus conforming to its opposite. Being an individual means considering everything and choosing what reflects myself regardless of how society sees it.
Blessings, G
Only an Ass Would Choose by G A Rosenberg 