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Occupy Your Mind

The past 48 hours the modern world has been unavoidably inundated by the horrific news of a certain faux celebrity’s relationship demise to what was the 19th love of her life. Was the relationship a sham? Is this really news to her husband? Is it possible she really is all style and no substance? Does any of this matter? No! Is any of this interesting? No! Are these people worthy of our trance-like attention? Once again, no.  

Before you assume I’m a hypocrite or some sort of liar or snob, know that I understand the need for guilty pleasures, I love and watch probably too much television and I can easily admit that Kim Kardashian and her excessively large family are ridiculously good-looking and apple bottomed. I’m grateful as a woman with junk in the trunk to see the fruits of JLo’s labor. The women high on fantasy lists today include the Kardashian brood, Christina Hendricks from Mad Men, Sophia Vergara from Modern Family and the likes of Scarlet Johansen, Beyonce, and other fuller figured ladies. Horray for heroin chic being out and eating a healthy meal being in. My concern lies mostly with the lack of substance these television shows and their characters possess. I’ve given these shows a shot, because a few people I actually like and respect inexplicably vouch for these useless half-wits and I recognize I should judge, watch and then decide if my initial prejudice was in-fact correct. Guess what? It was. These people are not only unbelievably vain, material obsessed and spoiled, they’re emotionally stunted and uninteresting. And most likely, they’re not even real.

 

Do they deserve to suffer, die or be treated horribly? No, absolutely not. But they certainly do not deserve the endless array of admiration, attention, undeserved fame and the exorbitant amounts of money they’re receiving on a second to second basis. They have no right to complain about any negative press, haters, or mild drama they experience because they bring it upon themselves and they’re certainly enjoying the excess so arrogantly projected right there in our living rooms. Any time I’ve been bored and standard-less enough to watch these pointless wastes of air-time, someone loses a piece of jewelry, gets a pimple, or some other meaningless non-event, inducing tears and melodrama and the most boring, bullshit conversation. It bores me, it angers me. As someone who knows a slew of very passionate people with an actual work-ethic, myself included, it’s frustrating to watch reality stars publish books and acquire undeserved success because of who they’re parents are or how much money they were born with. And there seems to be very little effort on their part to give back, give thanks, or showcase any semblance of sincerity and I’m over it.

 

More than my distaste for this mundane, brain-cell killer TV, is the throng of citizens who keep these idiots employed. Kim Kardashian made 65 million dollars last year alone. The rest of the famous for no discernible reason family acquired a hefty share thanks to our diminishing expectations and intelligence. You’d think Kim would be semi-smart or even shut off her selfishness for 5 minutes to recognize marriage is worth fighting for, especially one that tricked a lot of people into paying for it and watching it, over and over again, as the soul-less E! network tricks Americans time and time again into watching inarticulate drones move in and out of contrived scenarios where nothing actually happens but some manipulated problem is presented and subsequently, happy-ending is fostered. They’re worse than the awful romantic comedies piped out of Hollywood every other month because most of these absurd reality stars aren’t even working actors, or working at all, they’re phony label whores who can barely read, spell or articulate a sentence and yet are given credence to influence people through spoken and written word. Please stop listening, watching and reading (or stop watching and actually read something worthy).

 

I was guilty of being a drone, a sheep, of avoiding reality and delving into this fictional sense of a wannabe life on reality TV. I woke up. Watching people less intelligent and less evolved than you should not make you feel better. We should feel like brainwashed, lazy robots for investing any energy or time on people and material disproportionate to what we deserve and what we’re capable. You want drama? Watch college sports. Watch Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire. Bring in some levity to the downright and depressing state this country is in and watch comedy. I’ll even recommend the broad stroke predictable humor pervasive on CBS and ABC over the exaggerated buffoonery exhibited on E! and MTV. Expect more out of your brain and your life. We’re all dying, don’t waste what time you have, you’ll probably live longer if you sit in front of the blank screen watching, listening and absorbing nothingness. Not to be self-righteous, but we should also think about what this is teaching the younger generations. We have girls wanting to get pregnant on purpose! They derive their identity by the label at the bottom of their shoes, on the sides of their handbags, rather than the unique characteristics of their minds and hearts. I want more for my friends and for my nieces and nephews.

 

I’m not writing all of this to make anyone feel bad, mostly I write about positive subjects, experiences and art I want to share, passion and enthusiasm for life and my personal revelations and lessons while in it. I have a lifetime of learning and improving to do and while I do appreciate and understand the need to shut-down at the end of the day and let go of thinking and doing, I maintain that need can be fulfilled with substance, depth. Comedy. This is what comedy is for, shedding light on an otherwise dark, heavy existence. It requires great mental acuity, keen perception and a depth of understanding unmatched by any art form and certainly any reality show.

 

There’s a reason we’re not surprised when these people fail, in relationships or other aspects, because they’ve built on their negativity, given nothing of value to the world and operate with a sense of entitlement. I fully support our country’s right to protest and their frustration with our government and the world’s dysfunction. I’m also privy to a great secret. My level of happiness is within my control. No I cannot help the fact that there are 5 people applying for each single job and I cannot change the fact that Wall Street took our billions of tax dollars as a bail out and managed to spend it unwisely. I also cannot change the fact that many people occupying the airwaves and the New York Times Bestsellers list have not earned this success or even read an entire book. What I can control is what I absorb and how I react. What I absorb is inspiring me, opening me, and improving me. I will apply for 50 jobs, online, door to door, over the phone and in the mail. I will save my money where I can and spend it at worthy establishments. I will feed my body, my mind and my soul with substance, not wolves in sheep’s clothing, chemically built food, hyper-produced shows aiming to resemble life, and not people who are unimaginative, unkind, unfunny, and ultimately un-evolved.

 

The reason we’re in this current state of humanity is because we are unconscious, unable to get a real grip on actuality, on genuine reality, so we insist on living the status quo, expecting mediocrity from our government, our jobs, and our entertainment. Change begins with us. Adjust small habits. Expect more out of what you ingest, physically and mentally. Turn the monotony off and turn your better self on. We all deserve more, we certainly expect more and assume we’re entitled to more. Instead of demanding or complaining, let’s command it with our action, earn it. Let every aspect of our lives be worthy and reflective of the quality imbued in our expectations, in our American dream.

 

The occupy movement starts with us, in our minds, hearts and living rooms. Raise the barometer on even your guilty pleasures. Have quality fun. Keep only the best, most encouraging company and don’t be afraid to make adjustments to align yourself with what you really desire. Revise your standards, your dreams, the details that encompass your life, and try not to let doubt or fear obstruct your presence and your future.