DON’T BE A LEMMING – MARCH TO YOUR OWN BEAT
Little girl marching to her own beat. Photo courtesy of Nappy.
I had never even heard of a Lemming until I stumbled upon a book called The Lemming Principle years ago. This book truly impacted my thinking about mindlessly following the lead of others without ever asking questions. In a longstanding popular myth, it has been said that lemmings (a small rodent found near the Arctic region) have a herd mentality that leads them to follow each other over cliffs, committing mass suicide. Scientists have debunked this myth, but many continue to believe it. Myth or no myth, that herd mentality does exist; maybe not with lemmings, but certainly with many of the human species.
A writer/Oscar-winning actor, Alan Arkin, created another book called The Lemming Condition, written for teens and young adults with the same message about thinking independently. I listened to his rendition in an audiobook and was moved even more as this message again pierced my spirit. This book should be required reading or listening for everyone. It seems as if we have been programmed to accept the words of those who speak the loudest, the longest, or who have the biggest presence on social media. We must learn to trust our own spirit of discernment and march to our own beat. I was once told that we’ve all been equipped with an inner voice that speaks to us to guide us in the right direction. That voice is always there, but often we choose not to listen. Haven’t you heard someone say, “I felt it in my gut…?” I was taught that this gut feeling is God, so I try to keep my ear to my gut, not the ground.
How sad it is to witness over and over again the mass destruction of our children who choose to follow rather than lead, who doubt their own inner gifts and strengths, and who succumb to being far less than they really are. Somewhere along the way, we’ve made it okay to make ourselves carbon copies of others rather than appreciating the uniqueness and beauty of ourselves. Do you remember the scene from the movie, "The Wiz," when dancers, at the mere direction of the character, The Wiz, chanted these words?
“I want to be seen green.
Wouldn’t want to be caught dead, red.
‘Cause if you are seen green,
It means you got mean bread.”
THEN…
I thought it over, and green is dead!
“‘Til I change my mind, the color is red.
I wouldn’t be seen green.
So throw away those green gems,
And wear rubies on your yacht instead…”
And the dialogue goes on and on, the dancers changing at the simple command of The Wiz, who really had no power at all, just that which the mindless ones have given him by following his every instruction blindly.
We need to ask ourselves, how much mindless behavior have we given in to? If a designer decides that the new trend is blue hair, will you make an immediate change? Does an open concept in home décor reflect your decorating style, and why must every decision on clothes, cars, shoes, hairstyles, or books we read all be the same? We all have different thoughts and opinions on what appeals to us or not.
Particularly for young people, there is a constant pressure cooker-like push to do what others do or to be like others present themselves. Some of those pressure cooker bullies coerce others who are not strong enough to choose their own way. And off they go, like the mythical march of lemmings to their demise over the cliff. So, what must we do to change the human course of destruction created by the blind leading the blind? I wish there were an easy answer. What I do know is that, like the words of The Buddha, every little positive change in our world can make a difference:
“Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills himself with good.”
We must all learn to follow our inner compass, not someone else's, understanding that being different or even thinking differently is not always a bad thing. We learn more by thinking, listening, and not just accepting what someone else may want us to believe.
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
