Originality, so highly prized in today’s social economy that it almost seems a curse to openly admit you’re willingly repeating something that’s been done before. As if every wheel that true, admirable, and balanced is, because of its unoriginality, only good only for the fire. The trailblazer ideology, mainly, keeps us landlocked and has us convinced that joining a mass of people, on any level, is a life sentence to obscurity. Never mind the internal benefits of lasting community, following others is frowned upon as it’s always unclear how one leaves a proper mark in life when they’re being swallowed by the whole.

Team, community, and otherness. These are the values with which we wrestle with on a daily basis. Standing out when assimilation is more productive and conducive with our overall well-being in a tough sell in a society whose main commodity is attention. Hungry and desperate to be noticed, far be it from any one of us to take a back seat to our destiny. Charge. 

They say: you’re following blindly, but we know that it’s only through following that we see. Coveting originality, we do shirk, at some points, but it’s the listening that involves us in his tender care. It’s the being knowing that brings our unending originality to the surface of daily life. A knowledge and an acceptance that brings forth a willingness to follow. The following makes our distinction complete, not one of embarrassment, but one of joy.

Having someone in your life that can be clearly understood, relied upon, and trusted changes everything about all the unclear moments in life. Not everyone listens, but those who humbly regard themselves as under the master’s care always have an ear open to a voice bigger than their plans: God’s. These sheep never want for lack of any good thing, as the footprints they tread are so large and the destination so immense, that they’d take all the grace offered and possibly, even, carried over the next hill.

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” John‬ ‭10‬:‭27‬ ‭NIV‬‬