Much of growing old is about fitting in.
The clothes we wear, the activities we engage in, the music we listen to…
There’s a profound desire to be recognized as part of the in group.
In the movie Toy Story, Buzz and Woody eventually find themselves in an arcade filled with games. Buzz climbs up the chute of a claw-machine game designed as a spaceship filled with alien toys. Here’s the clip.
BUZZ:
“This is an intergalactic emergency!
I need to commandeer your vessel to Sector 12!
Who's in charge here?”
All the aliens point upward.
ALIENS, in unison:
The cla-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-w!!
Eventually, someone starts playing the game and successfully grabs an alien, prompting it to celebrate “I have been chosen!”.
ALIEN
(whispering excitedly)
I have been chosen!!
Positioned with his back to Sid, the alien is lifted up by the claw.
ALIEN
(continued)
Farewell, my friends! I go on to better place.
SID
Gotcha!
Little does the Alien know that Sid has a love for destroying any toy he gets a hold of.
The consequences of “going with the flow” and “not making waves” can be dire.
Allowing ourselves to be eroded by the opinions and customs of others because can lead to being packed away into a box that’s unlike any other off the shelf.
But the reason we love Buzz, and Woody, and the other toys in Toy Story is because each of the characters have voice, presence, personality, and a story that’s all their own. They have a name and live up to it.
In my 33 years I’ve learned that it is not only important, but imperative to stand up and stand out.
Sometimes nobody is saying or doing anything because it’s your turn.
Sometimes different is exactly what we need.
“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”
- Jiddu Krishnamurti
