Dust in the Wind

One of my favorite songs from the 70s was Kansas` “Dust in the Wind” which theme was basically how we humans are somewhat insignificant against the large backdrop of time, space and history. While I continue to hear that haunting, beautiful melody in my head, I think I have grown a bit uncomfortable with the message.

The problems and issues of our growing yet shrinking world do seem quite immense compared to our relative individual positions among the masses. We grow up in a world that pressures us to “conform” or bend with the prevailing winds of thought and culture. I would suggest these prevailing cultural “winds” tend to destroy and “blow away” all the seeds of independence and reason before they can take root in the shallow soils of life. It is pretty hard to think or see straight with all the debris of futilistic/fatalistic thinking and attitudes that whirl around us.

I find myself quite annoyed at this point in life with many of the people around me who have no sense of direction, opinion, or positive “agenda” to live for. Most people seem to plod through each day looking to secure themselves financially, taking care of the many dependents around them or looking for whatever temporary pleasure they can find to fill the void of meaning and security in their short lives. While I think it is important to “do” all those things to an extent, it is not the end-all purpose in life from my point of view. I continue to hold the belief than mankind is capable of marvelous achievements and ecstatic experiences that are only limited by our imaginations and willingness to pursue them into being. We are surround by so much negativity and nay saying in our immediate circles that we cannot breath the air of freedom and independent living that I believe we are all born to experience or at least have capacity for. I think it comes down to OUR attitudes and viewpoints of our destinies. If we THINK we are just “dust in the wind”, we will probably act upon that by flying through life in the air of contemporary thought, ambitionless and without purposeful direction. If we think we are here for a purpose…whatever we imagine that purpose to be…then I suggest taking on the challenge of sinking ourselves into the fertile soil of reason, positivity and hope. Without those things we are all destined to living as “dust in the wind”.

The harsh reality behind all of this is the ticking clock. How much time do each of us have to realize our ambitions or dreams? Do I really have time to mourn the past today as I listen to that ticking clock? Do I have the luxury of time to listen to or read sources that contradict or attempt to deflate my goals and ambitions? Do I really want to run around with the rest of the majority who think they are just “dust in the wind”? I would suggest the answer is a definite NO. To use a Biblical analogy of merit, I would rather be like a “tree that is planted by the water”…that is irremovable and strong because it has stood there through the test of time and high currents of change. Its roots are deep in its own existence. It does not give in easily to floods of despair and external pressures. The tree of an individual`s life should provide shade for the weary, shared fruit for the hungry, and a strong reference point during the floods and storms every life will bring.

I choose NOT to be “dust in the wind”…