Not Just A Cog In The Machine
Photo: Xavier von Erlach.
Photo 2: Alex Iby.
How do we go about breaking out of these patterns that we were born into? How do we break free of a machine, or system, which we might not have realised we were in to begin with, until we were well into the process? This current machine - or system - evolved from our want to build a functioning and mutually beneficial society for each other, we have been required to fit into different parts, in order to help the machine work. The issue with this however is that, with the truth of the pressured state of the world today, the machine or system mustn’t just work, it must work better; many of us have come to set our goals, and our total experience of life, into fitting in with this purpose-built machine, in order to liberate ourselves from the pressures of stepping outside of the box. It seems, clearly, that we have come to mistake the purpose of the machine as something of a financial liberator, and missed the realisation that the machine is meant to be a process - or system - for growth, intended to encourage creativity and individual excellence. In this light, the more courageously expressive and excellent each individual in the machine of civilisation is, the greater the civilisation.
Although cogs in the machine are imperative to the working of the machine, it is rarely true that the cogs themselves know how their work affects the machine overall - only that it does affect it in some way. So, in this current system, the cog just rotates, day after day, helping the machine run. Yet, because human beings are not inanimate cogs, rather thinking beings, we may find ourselves getting bored of moving round and round in circles, in the machine, not knowing the greater purpose of our work in our society. This inevitably puts us into positions in which we begin to think of the many other things that we could be doing within the machine, if we weren’t just a cog in it; at this point, we find ourselves asking each other questions such as: “What would you be doing if you weren’t doing this?”. Although being just a cog in the machine has its financial benefits, the financial benefits don’t sustain happiness or freedom over time; as, even the financial rewards of the machine follow the process of going round in the same circle - one only earns as much as just a cog in the machine, not based on one's true potential, or limitless worth.
When we dream of doing great things, it isn’t that we dream of not being a part of the machine, it is that we want to be a greater part of it. Yet, from young, we begin fitting ourselves into the machine, which is often established by the ideas that our parents, the media, governments and the elders in our communities have communicated to us as the purpose of our life. So, we choose to be doctors, artists, lawyers, scientists, actors, writers, etc., because that’s where we believe we best fit in the machine.
THE QUESTION IS, WHY?
It seems obvious to me that, along with our youthful ideas of what it means to experience life as a professional doctor, artist or writer, of spending our days saving people's lives, expressing ourselves and writing down our thoughts, we also consider, often as most important to our experience of life, the financial benefits of being just a cog in the machine - and that is the issue.
Why do we sometimes ask each other, “What would you be doing if you weren’t doing what you’re doing now?” Whenever we carry out this exercise, if we aren’t already striving to achieve our great potential, our dreaming begins here. We imagine the things that we might love to do, besides what it is that we are currently doing. And the truth is, we must risk being wrong in order to take a leap of faith towards the dreams of what we could be doing, in order to do it; but, often, we do not want to risk being wrong; the fear of trying, failing, and subsequently finding ourselves in a tougher situation, stops us from trying, and as a result, sometimes, we remain just a cog in the machine. As time passes, we begin to come to terms with the life that we’ve chosen, and sometimes, reluctantly, we settle into it, living as just a cog, while the time of our lives in the machine passes by. As such, the key to breaking out of this cycle, is to take the risk of being wrong, and to live with the knowledge that of course you could be wrong, yet, try anyway. Thus, our experience of life becomes to try, and to find out.
The machine is the society that we live in, and as a society, a system in itself, it isn’t a bad one. The machine has been developed and adapted by individuals who themselves took risks to see how they might influence the system. The honest entrepreneurial spirit is encouraged for, and by, the machine, because for our experience, and the quality of our lives to be better, the machine, or the system in which we exist in, must also grow better. Although the status quo might always be that there are many individuals and organisations that would rather the system did not evolve, because with this evolution comes change, and change means different from what they are comfortable and used to, yet change is inevitable. The status quo only remains so if we blame our issues on the system, the machine; so the progressive question posed is - what can you do about it?
DREAMS REQUIRE ACTION.
There will always be a system, because a system helps us live a more organised, and as such, useful life. Yet we can change the system: we can adapt and evolve the machine towards what we can see today, from our current vantage point, towards a more inclusive, diverse and brighter future for all, because the change makers of the machine who came before us could only see as far as where we are now, which is why the system is what it is today. It is up to us to risk being wrong in our belief that we can again make a better change to the system, and take action to move towards it. We are all cogs in this machine of human civilisation; we have, together, built a system based on the education of individuals and their subsequent embedding into industries within the machine, to help the system carry on as it is; however, we seem to forget that it is important for the machine to adapt and to grow, not just to function routinely. We must not be just a cog which helps the machine to function, we must be the cog which knowingly makes the machine better. As such, it is up to us to discover what we love and what we are best at, to unlearn, educate and train ourselves appropriately, and to subsequently find where our purpose truly lays within the growth of our society, not just the functioning of it.
We are only always right when we never risk being wrong; to better the quality of our lives, and as such to better ourselves as individuals, and the system in which we live in, the aim is to work towards creating a better system for all - to be a cog that reaches its fullest potential because of the influence it could have in creating a greater system. To do this, we must risk being wrong and take a leap of faith in ourselves, towards our goals, and towards the evolution of a better machine for all.
