Flashing Lights

I'm sitting in front of an apple computer screen typing out the fact that I have absolutely no idea what I want to blog about.  In all honesty, the only true reason I even feel the need to blog is because of a certain intonation deep within me that thinks that it is my duty to use the site since I'm a member.  Not that I don't have anything to say, I just feel that individuals that want people to know their every move are in a sense narcissistic.  To me, it's a cry for not only attention but also help.  They want your sympathy and your pity (I'm sure they mean the same thing, you know synonyms).  Funny thing is, you might as well chalk my name on that board (though I'm slowly starting to etch it out).  Moreso than anything I think that it's a societal problem.  Everybody wants to be Mr. Big Dick nowadays.  Everybody wants to "outshine" the next man.  You all know what I mean, it's the "anything you can do, I can do better" type ordeal.  I've found myself up many a nights pondering the reason behind this and I have yet to come up with an answer.  Think about the alternative.  Do you tell someone not to be all they have been called to be because there are too many people doing it?  Do you say to someone that a life in mediocrity is fine as long as you stay true to yourself.  Really?  True to mediocrity?  Who in their right (or left) mind thinks that being true to themselves is remaining in mediocrity.  Honestly, who wakes up in the morning, looks in the mirror and says, "I will not achieve my full potential...but it's who I am and I'm comfortable with that"?  That sentence reads ridiculous so picture how much worse it'd be coming out of someone's mouth.

I just had an epiphany.  Maybe, just maybe, seeking fame is the problem.  Think about it.  Why do we seek fame?  Because, of course, we want to be recognized.  We want to stand out among our peers or maybe we just like the idea of everyone looking up to us as god (there goes that pesky narcissism again).  I've noticed that nowadays people seek fame for all the wrong reasons.  They don't want to be famous because they have something IMPORTANT (I capitalize that because everyone has something to say, I just don't find that everyone has something important to say) to say, but just because they like the idea of fame and what it presents.  The classic example would be rap music.  The classic Biggie Smalls line, "Money, hoes, and clothes.." is just one representation of this idea.  Just to clarify, I'm an avid Biggie Smalls fan, I find that his music, as well as countless musicians, have hidden or subliminal messages tied to the lyrics.

But, you know something, I'm going to leave that situation out of this argument.  I think you'll find that it's a trickle down effect though.  Fame is not and should not only be established as a word that means a person's economic status within society.  Fame, and I'm sure it does, means ANY situation where a person is overexerting his or herself in trying to gain the attention of others.  Coming up, I saw a whole bunch of these types of people.  From the cheerleaders, to the athletes, to the thugs, and on and on.  Everyone remembers the scene in high school.  The sole purpose in high school was to outshine everyone...BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY!!!  (sorry, I had to throw in Malcolm X)  It's the popularity contest.  That's fame as well.  To see who had the most friends, or went to the most parties, or drank alcohol every weekend, or had gotten into the most fights before graduation, or fucked the most individuals...that's fame.  Everybody knows or knows of at least one individual that falls in this category.  And this my friends is the society in which we are growing up in.  One in which we have been in competition with one another from the very beginning.  

1 “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.   - Matthew 6:1

I'll be ending this blog soon as I think this quote pretty much sums up my argument.  Do not feed into the idea that in order for you to be somebody you have to be known by everybody.  As my film teacher would say, "that's rubbish."  Never forget that whatever lies in store for you in your life will come with time.  Be patient and do not rush the process.  We have enough wealthy people who have become either angry at society or suicidal without the slightest inclination as to why.  Fame, in the traditional, is not all it's cracked up to be.  Not the way the world wants to give it to you.  Trust yourself, trust your gift, and trust in God. 

-Train