This has been on my mind for quite some time now and I feel compelled to let it all out!! It has come to my attention in a very round about way, how we Human Beings, regardless of our Age “chronologically,” tend to be “treated” mostly like “recalcitrant” children, constantly being told to “Behave!”

So I started thinking about the structure of Society and the things that we are taught – ingrained into our psyche – pretty much since birth. We all know the basic things after you’re born, sitting up, rolling over, crawling, eating solid food for the first time, saying your first word, taking that first step, eventually learning to walk and to run, well you get the gist, that’s what we humans, and pretty much any animal does, it is born, it grows, it grows older and eventually passes away, it is the nature of, well Nature!

What isn’t Natural in my opinion is the “dogma” for lack of a better word, that is literally ingrained into our psyche – from childhood on! Of course that dogma varies from person to person depending upon the manner of upbringing, however, it all follows the same “formula.” That formula usually involves some kind of “societal” rule that has to be followed in order to be considered a “contributing member of society.”

However, before that societal control, comes the familial control which is in itself wrapped up in “cultural and/or ethnic” controls, there are many a varied means of control, however we tend not to see it as such. For example a parent scolding a child for some “wrong” doing, that is a means of control. The difference is, that in most instances that sense of “control” is for the “own good” of the child – he/she was playing with matches for example and started a small fire. These are understandable means of so-called control. However, control of this kind becomes much more insidious when the “punishment” does not fit the crime and unfortunately we know, all too well that these kinds of households do indeed exist.

However, the subject of control does not end there. Within the familial realm, depending upon culture and/or ethnicity a person of your family and ancestral history may be expected to “behave” a certain way, or to become a certain kind of “someone,” like a Doctor or a Lawyer – these are just examples, you could fill in the blanks – the point is that there are certain “expectations” that you must meet in order to be considered a “contributing member of this family” – you know, the “As long as you live under my roof, you do what I say,” kind of mentality? – never mind that your child might want to be a musician or an artist or join a commune, or become a priest/nun, whatever, but no, the buck stops here! No more discussion!

A good example of this would be from the movie Dead Poets Society with the incomparable Robin Williams – he continues to be missed – in which one of his students longs to be an actor and actually auditions for the school’s production of A Midsommer Night’s Dream, in which he was awarded the part of “Puck.” Although his father disapproved of any extra-curricular activity not having to do with his “chosen” career, he was nevertheless encouraged both directly and indirectly by his teacher’s (Robin Williams) words and thus was able to not only audition, but actually obtain the part.

Well, spoiler alert for those of you who have not had the “privilege” of watching this film – Opening Night is upon them, this particular boy – Puck – performs to the hilt, he is very good, all of his buddies are there cheering him on, as well as his Teacher; the auditorium is thundering with applause at the success of the play, and of course one other person that you do not expect to see in the audience is there as well, the boy’s father. At first, you’re thinking to yourself, awww, he came to see his son perform – until you see the seething look in his eyes and you wonder.

Of course, you need wonder no longer, instead of congratulating his son on a job well done and if need be, could have waited to get home before having words with him, dear old Dad chose that moment to “humiliate” his son in public – in front of his friends, his peers, and his teachers! It was so terrible in fact, that the Teacher tried to step in and tried to reason with the father, but it was to no avail, instead, he accused the teacher of filling his son’s head with all kinds of “silly ideas” and promptly took him away from the crowds that had gathered outside of the theater.

That night, while his Mom and Dad were sleeping, the boy – who really was no boy, I think he was either already 18 or pretty close to approaching his 18^th birthday – went downstairs, into his father’s study, walked over to his dad’s desk and pulled out his dad’s revolver. In the following scene you see the Mom and Dad sleeping in their bed, when they are awoken by a loud report – their son had shot himself in the head with his dad’s gun! It was so sad, especially since the Dad seemed to show no remorse for his actions, chose not to see that his humiliation and high expectations of his son – not just in the instance of the play, but throughout his entire childhood – were the direct influence of his son’s final and tragic decision – no, he instead chose to blame the Teacher for introducing his son to these “radical ideas; and of course the school (a form of control) agreed with the father and the Teacher was summarily dismissed!! Radical Ideas – imagine that, living your life the way YOU want to, as opposed to how “everyone else” wants you to – that’s a radical idea!! I had no idea, my my!!

It makes me cry when I think of it, even though I know it’s a fictional account, however, the reality of it is, that this kind of stuff happens every day – in every day life – more often than we care to admit! So, this is just one example of the kinds of ways we are “controlled” within a familial lineage. Cultural biases come in to play as well, for example in my life: I come from a Mexican Mother and a Puerto Rican Father, two similar, but very different cultures – plus, I was born in America, I was reared in America, I am an American and am thus, deeply immersed in this “culture” as well.

Well, being a woman of a certain age, by the time I was 13 years old, I was “expected” to find a husband, settle down, have a zillion children, and just be una “Buena Ama de Casa,” or a “Good Housewife.” Not that I was expected to be married at 13, but by the age of 13 I was being “groomed” as it were. My mom would say things to me like – whenever I didn’t want to do my chores – “Nunca te vas ha encontrar un hombre con esa actidud,” “You’re never going to find a man with that attitude!” To which I would inevitably reply: “Si ese es la clase de hombre que voy a encontrar, mejor sola, que mal acompanada,” “If that’s the kind of man I’m going to find, I’m better off alone, than wrongly accompanied!” To which she would throw her hands up in exasperation and say in English – in her cute little accent: “I don’t care, you still have to wash the dishes!” Then she would just leave the room, because she knew not to get me started – I questioned everything, what do you want from my life? !LOL!!!

Then of course, we enter the Societal controls in which we become so entrenched, we don’t know where “we” end, and “the System” begins. School, kindergarten, elementary, middle school, high school, college/university, specialized degrees, all kinds of hoops to jump through and obstacle courses to run, just so that you can become a “somebody” – a true, blue “contributing member of Society – a Number, a Consumer in the great Game of Capitalism or Consumerism – the terms are interchangeable, in my estimation! Yay!

You see it in the Medical field as well, that control. We, as autonomous human beings are giving our autonomy over to the doctors and physicians, who granted do know much more about the physical anatomy than most, however, they do NOT have all the answers! More often than not, physicians find themselves scratching their heads over some set of symptoms that may or may not be this or that disease – it’s a game of dice with your health! Nowhere is this control more prevalent than among those who have been diagnosed with one type of cancer or another. The patient is expected in that “instance” to accept that the “doctors” know best and their “best” treatment is inevitably either chemotherapy or radiation therapy or even a combination of the two, meanwhile, they are given odds of survival like: 60% chance to live maybe 5 years, or 3 weeks, 4 on the outside without treatment!

What is that? Who would really want to go with those odds? I mean, I suppose, remaining alive for longer than 4 weeks is definitely a plus, however, did I forget to mention the ravages of chemo and radiation therapy, how some people “don’t survive” the process sometimes, and even when they do survive, they end up dying anyway — long before their “time?!” I’m sorry, I feel for those having to go through such a diagnosis and having to be faced with those kinds of decisions. Personally, I believe that I would opt NOT to go through those “invasive” treatments and would choose to go the “Homeopathic route,” or try “Reiki sessions,” or even “Sound Healing modalities” – any alternative treatment that doesn’t consist of putting poisonous chemicals into my blood stream in the hopes that they “only” kill the “bad” cells and leave the “good” cells untouched – a bit naive perhaps, to believe that it would do so!

If I still die, even after I have tried all of the different modalities, changing my diet, exercising more, basically radically changing my entire life style – if I still die, well then it was meant to be. Who am I to try to extend my appointed time? The point is to live Now, not wait for some distant time in the “future” to begin your life – like the song says “Live like you were Dying.” Words to LIVE by!! Pun fully intended!!! LOL!!

So, I suppose you have caught my drift by now. I personally do NOT consider myself a child in any sense of the word, other than to say that I am a Child of Creation. Therefore, I do NOT appreciate being treated as a child by anyone, no ONE holds any authority over me, no government, no governmental entity, and/or institution of any kind holds ANY authority over me!!

I AM the Author of My Own Life – Author, it comes from Authority! I AM the Final Authority over My Own Life! I AM a Sovereign Citizen of the Universe, as are We ALL! Realize your own Immortal Being – Your Own Sovereign Nature – Be the Author of Your Own Life – Write Your Own Story – before it’s too late!! KNOW THYSELF!!

Thanks for reading! Keep on Keeping On! Peace!