On a cold wednesday evening my brother and I went for a few drinks in a bar in Austria. We were there on a one-week skiing trip with the family. The place was quite crowded. People from different ages gathered to watch a Champions League game. While the bartender was preparing our drinks, I looked around to kill time. All of a sudden a guy, sitting on the other end of the bar, wanted to fight with me. For no reason. A perfect example of today’s society.
To this date I still can’t figure out what triggered this guy. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it just was alpha-male behavior. Either way, it was stupid and useless.
On the drive back home (approximately 12 hours) I found myself reflecting on this. If I’m really honest with myself I see a little bit of myself in that guy. Only when I consume alcohol, that is. The alcohol triggers something in my brain that makes me much more irritated and violent. I’m determined to change this stupid behavior.
Anyway, after that incident another thought came to mind. For the past few months I’ve been noticing this recurring ‘trend’. I just didn’t know what it actually was, until now: a rivalry between young people.
I can easily recall a dozen of situations where I didn’t feel at ease surrounded by other young people. As soon as you walk into a place (bar, coffee bar, store, concert, …) all eyes are on you. Who are you? What do you do here? What are you looking at? A negative feeling immediately hits you in the face. You have to prove yourself.
Nowadays young people are too busy trying to impress each other. To be honest: been there, done that… It’s a hard thing to admit. But it’s definitely a relief when you do so. You’ll feel better.
That feeling of ‘I need to prove myself when I walk in there‘ will slowly fade away. You’ll feel more comfortable. Ignore the negative vibes and send out positive vibes yourself. You’ll attract good people, and you’ll ban the people that use you to feel better themselves.
It’s not about being the toughest, coolest or most handsome. It’s not about rivalry between youngsters. There’s already too much hate in the world we live in. Why not enjoy the things we like, together?
the wolves howl 