LIVES OF OTHERS

We are given a life at birth to live as we see fit. It is up to each of us to decide what to do with it. We all have complete freedom to use it as we wish. How we do so is solely our responsibility. There are people who live their lives in the shadow of others. They have no light of their own and are content to reflect the brilliance of other lives. This phenomenon manifests itself in different ways: in parent-child relationships, between partners, among people in the same social environment, or in relation to established norms. But let's take it one step at a time. ### Parents and children Nowadays, it is common to find parents living their children's lives, doing their children's chores, deciding what they will do with their future, choosing their friends and partners. These parents, always with the best of intentions, hinder their children's intellectual and spiritual growth. They forget that their children are adults who have the right to make mistakes and learn from them. As a result, these children often become insecure individuals with no interests of their own, who fail in their personal and professional relationships. Children need their parents as guides and role models, but we must let go of their hands, help them get up if they fall, and let them walk the path of their lives independently. ### The Couple We also find couples where one member lives in the shadow of the other. These people abandon their personality to live according to what their partner demands. It is not difficult to find stories where someone abandoned their personal study or work project to serve the whims or needs of the other. They become spiritually and materially dependent on the other party. Thus, they begin to live someone else's life. The members of the couple should complement each other. The relationship is a search for common ground between its members without giving up the cultivation of their individuality. ### The Neighbor On the other hand, we have those who are attentive to the lives of others around them. They are interested in every detail, whether significant or trivial, in the lives of others. The worst part of this situation is that they do not have healthy motivations. In most cases, they are driven by unhealthy curiosity or envy. These people spend their lives worrying about what others do or do not do. ### Society Social prejudices are the reason why people live according to the patterns established by society. Those who choose to live this way subjugate their lives to the dictates of established rules. Of course, life in society has rules, which are necessary to maintain peaceful coexistence, but never to restrict the personality of its members. Prejudices clip our wings and push us into the herd, preventing us from living as the black sheep we sometimes long to be. Each individual needs their own life experience. Let us remember that the time we are given is finite, and we should not waste it living the lives of others. This reflection may not bring anything new to many of you, but it is striking to see how, despite this, we can discover that many around us are living other people's lives... worse still, to discover that we ourselves are doing so.