Tom Omidi

Doubts and Decisions for Living Vol III. Tom Omidi Enhanced edition

Most people follow the mainstream and get dissolved within the society. They simply adopt pervasive social values and imitate one another in order to pursue their ambitions and satiate their needs for social acceptance and attention. Following this popular path feels most natural, while it also maximizes people's chances of fulfilling their collective needs for pleasure, sexuality, power, and materialism. This happens at the cost of neglecting their integrity, independence, and identity, but they do not mind. This customary life structure feels the easiest to manage for most people, anyway, because they are not usually driven by strong passions other than sexuality and materialism. Besides, they are properly conditioned and trained since childhood to follow this path. Furthermore, many role models are always around to encourage and support one another within common values and norms. Yet, this lifestyle revolves around a dysfunctional structure that people have put together recklessly and accepted its norms helplessly. We should at least know the perils of living in the mainstream. What is the purpose of taking all these rigorous steps in life so obediently without questioning our rationality and objectives? Get education, find work, make money, marry, have children, buy a house, travel, divorce, etc., all mostly in vain, as if chasing this routine life structure were ingrained in our genes.