Being an Idealist

Sunday, April 12, 2015 0 Comments

Being an idealist sucks and is awesome at the same time.

How to recognize one?

You were that kid, who was lost in a train of thoughts during classes. One look outside the window and end up being in a magical world. One stare at the wall, a movie(read : your own imaginative one) starts projecting on the wall, one look into numbers and you can weave a story involving the numbers, you do not read a book while you read a book, but you watch a movie inside your head while actually reading a book. You find reading fantasy genre extremely gripping. You find an unknown attraction towards movies, songs & books that make you experience slightly darker version of feelings. The likes of Tim burton's and Black swan. You can always think about the impossible without even having the slightest remorse of whether there is a possibility of that phenomenon happening or not (not all the above given points should be applicable, however a good number of them might be applicable).

Idealists are complained to be self absorbed, fit for nothing, selfish, dreamers. We imagine a lot. True. However imagination is something that lets us have our way with perfection in this imperfect world. I do not claim that perfection is the only thing to seek in life. I've learnt that "To recognize" perfection in imperfection, is what life is all about. Idealist never loses that sense of fascination, "THAT" glimmer in eyes when one sees something new. Anything can fascinate an idealist. A rainbow, starlit sky, dark sky, sunset, horizon, rain, an anime, a well created character in a fictitious production, be it in writing or in visual medium.

Idealism drives you crazy. It gives that itch in your brain,which you cannot scratch. Only those who have experienced it can feel how horrible it feels to have that itch. It makes you seek the impossible. Wants the best, not to settle for something less. It's very helpful when you need to plan for a long term vision, where being overambitious makes sense in the long run. Being a part of almost 10 percent of the population is no fun either, which in-turn causes being ridiculed, bullied and whatnot.


The downside is, having lots of unrealistic expectations might break you. One fine day, you will get to realize that the whole life you have been living is based on lies and there was nothing you could have done to change it. The most difficult moment is one when you have no other go, than to accept reality, by partly burying idealism for the sake of pragmatism. Too much of idealism is not a problem in itself. However idealism when not able to realize in real life, might cause serious repercussions like depression. All we need is a vent to channel through the idealism. Creativity is at it's best because of idealism. People become Mad genius when brimming with idealism. There is no stopping them as they don't care about the difference between reality and imagination while they have "zoned out". Some of the best creator's are claimed to be idealists.Vincent van Gogh, J.R.R. Tolkien(lord of the rings), C.S.Lewis(The Chronicles of Narnia), A.A.Milne(Winnie the pooh), Bill Watterson(Calvin and Hobbes), J.K.Rowling(Harry potter), Johnny Depp, Tim burton(movie's like Alice in wonderland, Frankenweenie, Nightmare before christmas, Charlie and the chocolate factory). For a more comprehensive list have a look at this link. The secret lies in always being in touch with that madness. which actually defines the person you are. 

Idealist's also dream about an Utopian state,where no poverty, no ignorance exists. They cannot digest the fact that, creation of such a state is impossible, and when they come to realize that it is impossible they get destroyed inside piece by piece. They would curse their own self for not being able to contribute to the society in a meaningful way.
 
Mainstream job's might not be pleasing for an idealist. That urge to do something different, try new things cannot be satiated by a well defined, process oriented job. If you are an idealist, seeking to come out of the routine, create a plan. Tomorrow might not be the day you execute them, however you can do it someday, and your idealism will be the driving force in actualizing this very plan.





All above views are personal and might contain factual inaccuracies! 

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