Memes

I wish everyone a Happy New Year/Decade of better opportunities and better lives--from myself, friends, and family to the unimaginable kids across the world suffering from thirst and love.

It's interesting how we need a new year--the illusion of time--to trigger a mental switch to reflect, reassess, and reform...when I believe such conditioning can/should be applied every day of our lives. Why is it so difficult to escape the comforts of our daily routines (mental and physical) and embrace some form of change? So difficult that even when we gather enough courage to make these habitual resolutions, attempts at change still habitually fail.

A Meme, a term coined by Richard Dawkins (one of my personally most influential authors), is a unit of cultural ideas, thoughts, practices, etc. that spread from mind to mind and become ingrained in our brains as truths (with or without the support of reason or logic). The platforms usually include parents and past generations, cultural traditions, religions, etc. Ponder on it--memes ubiquitously impact our lives, down to the mental core that drives our daily actions and future expectations. From childhood indoctrination to religious piety, memes are the reason why we think "I am suppose to do this," "I cannot do this, "I'm not allowed to do that." Point of the matter is that there is no justification for these beliefs. The spread of memes, like virus, hide behind notions, such as filial piety and cultural propriety.

Start to Question the reasons behind your thoughts and actions and you'll be amazed at how memes subconsciously influence your life. Look at fashion and the act of shaving. Viral Marketing. The rat race for job security. Social status achievement. Religious customs and promises. ETC. Try to observe these behaviors from an objective, alien perspective. Rethink your behaviors that simply react blindly to political rules and parental interests. Apply civil disobedience on behalf of your own personal values. Maybe you'll uncover how such absurdity narrows the possibilities for our living.