Some people have described me as old-fashioned, while others call me modern and far ahead of my time. Both are probably right. Nothing interests me less than to adhere to the standards of a specific momentary period. I require quality in my set of values, and I am open to inspiration from any time and any place. In an intellectual sense I am trying to step out of time, or to be independent of it, because the Zeitgeist, or the spirit of the times, is a dangerous cage in every age, conditioning the thinking of a large part of humanity. I do not want to let it limit my imagination, creativity, and life.
"As to the times we live in, why should I depend on them? Much better they should depend upon me."
(Bazarov, in "Fathers and Sons" by Ivan Turgenev)
A lot of people are obsessed with modernity. They let their lives and thinking be shaped by what the spirit of the times dictates, what is correct in the eyes of mainstream consciousness.
These individuals have no sense of quality of their own, nor any interest in it. They can adopt any foolishness in the name of modernity. Ultimately they are decided representatives of extreme herd mentality. Nothing scares them more than to be considered old-fashioned and not up-to-date by others. Their standards are set entirely by the opinions of these anonymous others. No longer belonging to the herd is their greatest fear.
On the other end of the scale we have those who think things were much better in the past. They, as foolishly, resist everything new just because it is different. They, too, are without interest in genuine quality; clinging, as they are, to their own obsession: fear of the unfamiliar.
"The broad fact is that the bulk of the population of any one country is likely to be undereducated in anything new, therefore they cling most determinedly to the little thing they do know, for the unfamiliar is a threat, and the familiar - no matter how absurd we may see it to be - is their greatest comfort."
(P.N. Elrod - The War Against Azalin)
If you seek your own base of values, remember that new is not better than old, just because it is newer; and old is not better than new, just because it is older. The time aspect has nothing to do with independent evaluation of quality.
There is only one justified objection to this: if something has been in existence for very long, it has proved itself to have a certain quality. That is unquestionable, otherwise it would not survive that long (values, customs, and traditions must exist, say, 500 years or more to be considered long-lived). But that may not serve as an excuse to resist changes unreflectedly and class them as inferior; only as a reminder that every change can be for the better or for the worse, and that change itself does not automatically imply improvement.
"If you don't break your ropes while you're alive, do you think ghosts will do it after?"
(Kabir, Indian Philosopher, 15th century)
In order to establish your own set of values, you must not only think, and learn to know and understand yourself and your mind. (On how to do that, see: “Self-Knowledge & The Power Within”). You also need perspective; you have to study other cultures and other times, and you have to do that with an open mind. (See: “Acquiring Knowledge: Experience and Reading”.)
Don't feel yourself limited by contemporary mainstream views or those of a certain culture: they are merely opinions, and don't represent the ultimate truth. They are simply the statistically “normal” for a certain time and place; they may or may not be right for you. As I have previously described (“Beware of Being Normal, it can Be Worse than You Think!”), normalcy is nothing to strive for.
Related articles:
Beware of Being Normal, it can Be Worse than You Think!
Acquiring Knowledge: Experience and Reading
Self-Knowledge & The Power Within
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