I Like Philosophy
The Perils of the Idealist
To be an idealist means to live in two worlds. One is the world in your mind, where love is truly free and always reciprocated, where happy endings are plentiful and all is fair, just, pure and serene. And the second is the real world, where you are often forced to bid farewell to all you hope could be true, where the castles in the sky you have meticulously built can come tumbling down to crash upon the harsh rocks of reality, where you have to put on a myriad of masks to do what is expected, to conform to what is considered acceptable, to survive and thrive in a world of rules not of your making.
It is in the meeting of these two worlds were one finds the deep questions of existence. Do I give up my dreams and face the stark truths of reality, resign myself to the masks that hide my true identity and risk anything that is unique melting away behind the veils? Do I find the escapes of alternate reality where I have more freedom to define what I choose to reveal? Do I train my mental filters to constantly reconcile the two worlds and risk losing any true concept of reality?
Perhaps the answer is in finding balance, in accepting that the best laid plans may still be unravelled, to face the disappointments without becoming disillusioned, instead using each as an opportunity to grow wiser and stronger. Perhaps the deepest peace is knowing that life will test you constantly and in doing so offer the choice, do I cringe and wither away or do I face them bravely and rise to higher potential.
Perhaps in the end, an idealistic life would ultimately be quite a meaningless one, if all things worked out unerringly, if the light had no chance to shine against the background of the dark. Often in our most vulnerable moments, when we are forced to question who we are, whether we really have the strength to endure and find meaning, are the moments we discover who we truly are.
And so the perils of the idealist are perhaps not purely lamentable, but hold a certain quiet beauty in growing towards a better world and better sense of self.
To be an idealist means to live in two worlds. One is the world in your mind, where love is truly free and always reciprocated, where happy endings are plentiful and all is fair, just, pure and serene. And the second is the real world, where you are often forced to bid farewell to all you hope could be true, where the castles in the sky you have meticulously built can come tumbling down to crash upon the harsh rocks of reality, where you have to put on a myriad of masks to do what is expected, to conform to what is considered acceptable, to survive and thrive in a world of rules not of your making.
It is in the meeting of these two worlds were one finds the deep questions of existence. Do I give up my dreams and face the stark truths of reality, resign myself to the masks that hide my true identity and risk anything that is unique melting away behind the veils? Do I find the escapes of alternate reality where I have more freedom to define what I choose to reveal? Do I train my mental filters to constantly reconcile the two worlds and risk losing any true concept of reality?
Perhaps the answer is in finding balance, in accepting that the best laid plans may still be unravelled, to face the disappointments without becoming disillusioned, instead using each as an opportunity to grow wiser and stronger. Perhaps the deepest peace is knowing that life will test you constantly and in doing so offer the choice, do I cringe and wither away or do I face them bravely and rise to higher potential.
Perhaps in the end, an idealistic life would ultimately be quite a meaningless one, if all things worked out unerringly, if the light had no chance to shine against the background of the dark. Often in our most vulnerable moments, when we are forced to question who we are, whether we really have the strength to endure and find meaning, are the moments we discover who we truly are.
And so the perils of the idealist are perhaps not purely lamentable, but hold a certain quiet beauty in growing towards a better world and better sense of self.
36-40, M
