Whose Drummer are You Following?
In his work, Self Reliance, Ralph Waldo Emerson writes, ““Society is a joint-stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater. The virtue in most request is conformity. . . . Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist. He who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness but must explore if it be goodness.” Pps. 114-115
NOTE: There are significant pressures to conform whether it be from TV, social media, or corporations seeking to profit from our conformity. When one chooses not to conform but to walk to her drummer, one’s eyes are opened to a new world, and she sees what the conformists cannot see. It takes courage to walk to one’s own drummer. When one finds that courage, life is instantly changed, and one knows she has discovered her path.