Going lone wolf

"A lone wolf is a weak wolf, because wolves hunt in packs. A lone wolf would not survive in the wild for extended periods of time because they have evolved to exist in a social structure."

(From this very short blog post) 

Sounds just like good ol' human society huh?

With all the talk of 'no man's an island', we highly call forward for a structured society in our everyday life. Everywhere we go, there's that hierarchy to follow - the leader, the followers, the ones in between... and then there's the outlier, the outcast, the ones who doesn't take sides. The lone wolf.

There is a certainly a tradeoff here. In the first place, the way our society is structured would mean that these lone wolfs would certainly not last much long on their own - or even if they could, there is just that sense of under achievement, or maybe something of being marginalized.

But for some, this might not be a bad thing at all. Because when in a group, when we are subjected to collectivism instead of individualism, individuals can be swayed to to things which are, to put it bluntly, stupid. There's the whole thing about picking sides and being blind followers. The sheep mentality. The way we have to kowtow to some of those brainless leaders. The way we have to compromise, but at the same time it's only from our side. Maybe it has come to us doing whatever the hell as we please.

Me? I'm a lone wolf, but I come and go with people as I wish. Because in the greater scheme of things, we need each other to move on in our lives.

At the same time, we should remember how we're actually alone most of the time, and how we should start to get comfortable with the idea of being on our own.

To be alone, yet not alone, eh?

Opeth - Hope Leaves

In the corner beside my window
There hangs a lonely photograph
There is no reason
I'd never notice a memory that could hold me back

There is a wound that's always bleeding
There is a road I'm always walking
And I know you'll never return to this place

Gone through days without talking
There is a comfort in silence
So used to losing all ambition
And struggling to maintain what's left

And once undone, there is only smoke
Burning in my eyes to blind
To cover up what really happened
And force the darkness unto me

This song can gives me the blues, but strangely at the same time, some optimism. It's a beautiful song.

Knowing that whatever moment you're experiencing right now, and how you'll never truly return to the moment no matter how hard you try... that thought gives you a greater appreciation of the present innit?

When the moment is gone, and when you leave the memory in the past - that is when hope leaves. Memories may hold us back, but don't ignore it - acknowledge it. Even if the wound keeps on bleeding, you walk the path. When saying nothing is the best thing to say. Even if all ambitions are gone, you've got to go on with your life. You may decide to burn it all up to cover the past, but it doesn't change the fact that you yourself could never go back to that place.

Even if we're never to return to this place... life goes on. This too shall pass..