Sharing a myth

 Let's examine some of my biases. I work at a wilderness therapy camp, I know and use some desert survival skills. When the kids I work with make their first fire I cheer and high-five them and get excited, we're bonding over this pretty cool skill. My coworkers are usually better at skills than me, and I admire them because they're really good at this niche skill. But like, we could probably bond over some other inconsequential stuff instead, or maybe consequential stuff too.

Do people create relationships based on a shared adherence to a ritual? Like fandoms, their shared ritual is watching tv and writing fanfiction. Or Christians, their shared ritual is speaking aloud to a silent God and eating a tiny piece of bread. Or MAGAs, their shared ritual is complaining about people who look differently than them. Or athletes, who's shared ritual is running in circles and crashing into each other. Or the impoverished, who stick together even though they're probably toxic for each other. Their shared ritual is being taken advantage of by employers and numbing the pain with alcohol. Or pedants, which is me right now, our shared ritual is looking smart.

Like, I like to think I'm awesome because in the event of a full scale apocalypse I'm gonna be pretty hot. But really I'm just geeking out about my job. (I do love my job and I believe the program works) I'm just trying to gain the admiration of my coworkers and friends because I need constant validation.

I need a myth to mitigate the intrinsic dread of this slow lonely march towards death.

Really I'm no more hot or deserving of validation than anyone else in this world. We are all God's children and thus we are ALL equal. The people I deem weird and creepy or hateful or uneducated, are just trying to uphold their myth. And I push them away because they're weird, but they are my equal. I'd also say everyone has a desire to be a celebrity (or at least a niche celebrity). Because we crave the admiration of thousands of people. And we desire money lol

I really hope I'm being compassionate and empathetic, and I'm not being condescending. Look at me I'm so good at examining my own biases. Everyone love me now. So like, my motivation is very clearly validation from the human race. And is that motivation itself driving me to make this conclusion? (The conclusion being: everyone has this need for validation, and meaningless rituals provide a framework for that validation) 

Does this shared need for validation brings me closer to understanding you and loving you?

Everyone please like this post, I know social media attention is kinda silly and fake, but I still get a little hit of dopamine when I get a like.