Leon R.M. Auguste

There’s a difference between deceptive truths and realistic lies. At times, we may not even know how to differentiate between the two. At other times, we can easily “read between the lines,” so to speak. Recently, I had an encounter with a particular man at my work, which required me to utilize my skills in deciphering the true meaning behind his words. And luckily for me, I’ve dedicated my whole life to the unbiased truth.

Safe to say, the man is out of a job.

Life doesn’t always side with justice, but when it does, it feels as though the world is “right.” It feels as though justice, as elusive as it is, has finally stirred and awoken to the reality of my small (and admittedly, very insignificant life) and smiled ever so faintly towards my misfortune.

I don’t really ever get too personal on my blog, but I’m starting to feel confident enough to open up a little bit more to this otherwise wicked and strange world.

I wish that man no ill will. I wish he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut and not say the things he said to me. But to be completely honest, he caused his own undoing. Ambition, whether it be at work or in some competitive sport, is a healthy thing to have. But when you start to openly coax people in front of others, that’s when a fine line is drawn in my book.

His only mistake that day was that he believed it was wise to cross me. Sure, it’s all fun-and-games when it’s joking around. But the thing is, I’ve only worked with him one time before this incident, and it was for a very short amount of time. It was such a short amount of time, I didn’t even get a good or proper read of the type of person he was.

But that is in the past. Though I may remain calm and silent during such a moment of disgrace, inside – I knew that this man had lost his job faster than you can say: “Wait, I’m sorry.”

You see, the politics of work are one in which you must walk a fine line. Especially since he was at the same level as me, he should have been even more careful. If this man had been a manager or someone of a very “prestigious” level, the story (without a single doubt in my mind) would have ended with me losing my job.

But, he wasn’t bright enough to realize that both he and I were the same. We are both lowly workers servicing customers at a nice little café. He should have been wise about his actions – especially since he is my age. I would have thought better, but then again, I must remind myself that we are all imperfect. His thoughts and ideas of what a person should be might have been correct; in his mind. He might have wished for me to be a certain way, or to remain quiet about such an issue, or to buckle. But I know how to play the game of politics. I’ve studied it well enough to know when the odds are against me and when they are “indifferent” to me. And all I needed was for the odds to be “indifferent” to me.

I’ve come to understand that we are all very imperfect creatures. Erroneous by nature, beautiful by design. For you see, perfection is boring, is predictable, and is a machination. But to be imperfect, to be erroneous at times when things may turn out differently, that is existence and adventure worth going through. It’s unpredictable, a tale that can never be concretely known. For you see, perfection holds no true value. That’s why, even if you aren’t religious (like myself), that one saying “made in the image of God” means that we may look like “God,” but we were designed to be imperfect.

Our lives, for whatever the cause, were created to be full of contradictions. The algorithm of our collective existence was meant to be this way.

Let’s view this truth through an example:

If we lived our lives “correctly,” then there would be no progression or regression. Life would be, by all intended accounts, “static” or “unmoving.” It would be a reality that could not be challenged or opposed at all. In some ways, if such a reality existed entirely, our very minds would be dulled, and moreover, we as a society and culture would begin to disintegrate and unravel at the seams.

Once life loses meaning or purpose in our collective lives, we soon thereafter cease to matter. And once we stop mattering, we no longer have the willpower to live on. That’s why throughout history, even geniuses committed suicide. For even though they had recognition, for even though they may have held positions of respect, none of that mattered to them personally. Of course, societally speaking, they felt respected and revered. But if they themselves weren’t happy with their personal lives, then they found no purpose in living or “existing,” for lack of a better term.

We may never truly know the real depths of our existence, and that’s okay. In fact, if we possessed all the “worldly” and “spiritual” knowledge of our reality, we would certainly be leading lives with no purpose, no sense of livelihood, or sense of living. We would merely be “existing” in this physical manifestation we call life.

So in some way, life is meant to be cherished. It’s meant to be experienced for both the good and the bad. For without the bad, we would never know what a truly “good” life looked like. We could very well find ourselves lacking a sense of community, a sense of our position in said community, and moreover, we would be deprived of true happiness which comes from within ourselves.

No other person in the whole world can provide happiness for our life; only we hold that power above ourselves. Even the most wicked manager, the most demented parent, or the worst teacher, cannot hold any authority over our ultimate wellbeing. They may influence our emotions, but our own thoughts are what create our emotions. If you’ve lived long enough, you would realize that your thoughts and actions are the true rulers of your existence.

Forever in Your Debt,

Leon R.M. Auguste

Source of photo: (click me to view photo credits!)