Fresh off of a forced but relaxing excursion out of the country, I find myself feeling a bit under the weather as I sip on my late morning coffee.
Being slowed down gives one a chance to look back on and assimilate past experiences. Be they recent events or nearly forgotten dramas from the vault of consciousness. We may also find ourselves attempting to change course for an unknown future during these times of reflection. But, I feel more important than all of this is being rooted in the present. Being a presence in the fleeting forever evasive now is the one thing that can meld together explorations into our idealised self. Not going all guru on you here I will get to the core thought of what I'm saying and why I'm putting it on the blockchain.
Sitting here, well aware of my post flag war predicament I can only blame myself for the naivety of feeling I could bring something new and fresh to the sea of steem. If one can maintain a big picture long view as a well-studied noob, the slow rewards of an organic climb up the food chain might be possible. It would not only take drive and perseverance, but it would require a chewed up and bloody tounge to hold back from offering any opinions or experiences that may challenge those who feel they've earned or bought an alliance from you. As well as those that have sunk heart, soul, and money into this risk venture.
This is because of an inherent lack of faith and or understanding in the infantile dynamic of existing on this platform. A difficult plankton to swallow for any bigger fish that sees themselves as an integral chain in the links. Now, while a few here do stay focused and positive with a commitment to the harsh realities here, many seasoned steemians cannot see the coral for the reef. I'll tell you now how you can spot them, firstly they will repeat the phrase you're lucky, because "you're an early adopter" to this social media oligarchy that has a decentralised feel to it but in the end is majority speaking a fools paradise.
Early adopter, it will make you feel good, smart, and ready to jump in the deep end. But, philosophically speaking the statement bears no weight and has no actual meaning as the future of this place is unknown, perhaps mostly doomed. Let's leave the judgement on the sand bar and just say unknown, if this investment hasn't played itself out then it seems presumptuous at best to label anyone here as an early adopter. I am sure many hairdressers and the like were told that getting in early on the subprime housing bubble pre 2008 made them early adopters of a brave new financial revolution that would bring about great strides in social mobility. How'd that pan again?
There isn't much room here for realists, we challenge the dreamers to look at things after their bubbles have popped, and the security of alliances, and the realisations of steem now have left them vulnerable. Am I personally hopeful for this platform, no, not really. Am I hopeless no not all, I am just here, alone. Not collecting rewards from those prepping their minions for the next battle and also not beholden to anyone. I'm not trying to impress anyone or be a big fish in a tiny pond. My advice is this, do not give much attention to those that are desperate for this place to succeed or fail. The stench is the same deadly foul odor. 
In conclusion, there is no such thing as a premature death, or an early adopter until the game is finished and it's never really finished. If facets of this forum go out of operation something better will replace it in time. Don't panic, if you're here for what I see as the right reasons and your intent is to increase this non biased population so that many may also eat, not just you, and the other 100 out of 100,000 early adopters you're welcome to swim along with me and continue to figure out how to thrive not just survive.