“None of us is as special as we’d like to think.”
It was a line I said to a friend last weekend that took her aback. We were talking about a mutual acquaintance and I mentioned that I don’t like the fact that he considers himself a superior stud when he’s really just another ordinary schmuck like the rest of us. People with overinflated egos piss me off. So I said something on the lines of, “He’s not nearly as important as he thinks he is,” and then added the opening line of this post. My friend’s reaction screamed, “…but!…but!…I am special…right?” She didn’t say it, but I could tell that’s what she was thinking. So I explained my rationale behind the thought.
We all have this innate need to feel unique, important, significant, whatever. And in our own small ways, we are. It’s a fact that no two people are entirely alike, and therefore we are all unique. But most of us really aren’t that extraordinary. We go about our daily lives and accomplish a series of very average events: we work, go to school, raise children, work on hobbies, buy shit, eat, sleep, yadda yadda. Whatever composes the substance of our lives. They are important to us and in our own small corner of the world, but unless something in-fucking-credible happens, these things do not stand out. We as individuals, most of the time, do not stand out. We can all be considered wonderful, intelligent, talented, whatever, but that doesn’t mean we are special. We won’t be known throughout the world for our accomplishments, even though a great many of us have fantasized about that kind of recognition at some time in our lives. Even the people that hit such a point are replaceable, so you know what? It’s okay that it won’t happen to the vast majority of us. It is humbling but also freeing to realize that no matter who you are or what you become, you are replaceable and just as insignificant as you ever were. “All we are is dust in the wind.”
