At some point in life, a revolution is needed. I mean, while going through the grind we all tend to become habitual of a routine and miss the big picture. By revolution, I mean something different than the regular. Something passionate and addictive; A cause to die for and a goal to live through. Until there is an honor, there is passion and there is a will to transform the very cause of life, we will live through it but we will miss the adventure.
A normal 9 to 5 guy can bring the X-factor into his life, provided he is driven by some passion, some madness.
He/she can choose to be a revolutionary parent, son/daughter, colleague. I am deliberately using the term ‘revolution’ there. It brings an instant mission to our lives. We become aware. There comes a sense of urgency in our lives. The revolution doesn’t need to be in a pre-historic sense, the modern revolution, especially in our work arena, in fact, is individualistic. Once we choose to be extraordinary, starting from the smallest tasks to way up to bigger things, we will realize how capable a human is.
The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. There can’t be any large-scale revolution until there’s a personal revolution, on an individual level. It has to happen inside first. The greatest and most powerful revolutions often start very quietly. Love and revolution are core to our essence.
Our focus should be not only to confront the establishment but to totally be a rebel against it. To shame it. To mock it. With our art, our music, our literature, our stubbornness, our joy, our brilliance, our sheer relentlessness – and our ability to tell our own stories. Stories that are different from the ones we’re being brainwashed to believe.
And revolution is not a one-time event. It’s got to be a lifelong pursuit. It’s better to be mad at something we value than be convenient towards those in power. A revolution is a struggle between the future and the past. Just because something bears the aspect of the inevitable one should not, therefore, go along willingly with it. We are fully capable to begin the world over again.
We need a revolution of the mind. We need a revolution of the heart. We need a revolution of the spirit. The power of the people is stronger than any weapon. A people’s revolution can’t be stopped. We need to be weapons of mass construction. Weapons of mass love. It’s not enough just to change the system. We need to change ourselves. We have got to make this world user-friendly. Revolution means the end of exploitation. Revolution means respecting people from other cultures. Revolution is creative. Revolution means treating your mate as a friend and an equal. Revolution is uber cool. Revolution is beautiful. Revolution means protecting the people, the plants, the animals, the air, the water. Revolution means saving this planet. For a thinking and rational mind, revolution is irresistible and in fact, is inevitable.
Revolution is not something fixed in ideology, nor is it something fashioned to a particular decade. It is a perpetual process embedded in the human spirit. Every advance in human life, every scrap of knowledge and wisdom and decency we have has been achieved fighting hard. Every little increase in human freedom has been fought over ferociously between those who want us to know more and be wiser and stronger, and those who want us to obey and be humble and submit.
A great revolution in just one single individual will help achieve a change in the destiny of a society and, further, will enable a change in the destiny of humankind. The duty of the individual is to accept no rule, to be the initiator of his own acts, to be responsible. Only if he does so will the society live, and change, and adapt, and survive. We are not subjects of a State founded upon law, but members of a society formed upon revolution. Revolution is our obligation: our hope of evolution.
In times such as ours, when there is too much order, too much management, too much programming, and control; it becomes the duty of men leading the chart to do away with the predictables and lead their men to enlightenment, to freedom, to revolt. Revolutions spring not from accident, but from necessity. A revolution is a return from the fictitious to the real. It takes place because it must.
History reminds us that revolutions are not events, so much that they’re processes. That for tens of thousands of years, people have been making decisions that irrevocably shaped the world that we live in today. Just as today, we are making subtle, irrevocable decisions that people of the future will remember as revolutions. Revolution never happens because it is acceptable, it happens because everything else turns unacceptable. The revolutionary philosophy must be a philosophy of transcendence. The beauty of revolution is not to put an end to something. It is about creating the world anew. Fuelling something afresh. It is about to start a wildfire with a single spark.
Our way of life is inherently based on masters and slaves. We bow to assorted Gods. We bow to monarchs and presidents, to the rich, to celebrities. We never tire of bowing to others and getting on our knees. We are controlled at every turn. Isn’t it time to unshackle ourselves, to stand up straight for once? Isn’t it time to bring an end to the master-slave dialectic?
Also Read: What If: A Contemplation Of The Possible Scenarios
Change yourselves. Change the world. The very act of trying will inspire you. No one is saying it’s easy – it isn’t – but nothing will change without effort and struggle. Don’t let anyone crush your creativity. Don’t let anyone censor you. Don’t let anyone control you. Imagine what we could achieve if everyone were given a proper chance in life rather than being herded, controlled and patronized by the powers that be.
So for a start, let’s vow to revolutionize our individual lives and then maybe catalyze the lives of those around us.