People get so incredibly boxed in by their own thoughts about how they should live, how they should act, what they should do with their lives.
Key word 'should'.
We shouldn't do anything. But we CAN do whatever we want. We WANT to do something.
Sure, when we're young and we don't know any better, we should probably listen to what our parents what us to do.
Now I'm 21. And I was texting Jeff (who I don't think really counts as a friend anymore but apparently he is clinging on to our friendship...) and told him I was taking music history so that I could get my piano performers certificate.
His question was if I was doing it for my parents.
OH my dearie me. I'M 21! I don't do things for my parents anymore. I will go pick up laundry for my parents, or go grab some eggs, or go visit my cousin. I don't make a decision to take a music history course in order to please my parents.
Goodness. It's that awful ideal of doing what your parents want you to do that shelters people so much from the world. Or when I said, no it's not because of my parents, he asked what the point was then.
DUDE. What is the point of you texting me right now? Does it have a final purpose that will lead to a career in texting, or a lifelong friendship, or some meaningful thing that will count all the way until you're 80 and wrinkly? No. So I can take this darned music history course because I want to. I want to accomplish something. I want my performers certificate.
People get overwhelmed by the thought of doing only things that will get them something in return.
Take Rachelle for example, some days she will tell me about good deeds that she did during the week and finish it off by saying that she will now have good karma. Her idea of karma is doing good things in order to have good things happen in return.
But why can't we do something good just to do something good. Selflessness leads to a more rewarding life, and educating yourself in things that you are interested in leads to a more intellectual view of the world. We all see the world in different ways, but the more I talk to people, the more frustrated I get with them.
Just be you. Do what you want to do, and leave the rest up to the workings of the world.