A Humble Plea
Listen friends, we live in an era where knowledge has never before been so accessible. We are knowledgeable, yes. But are we wise?
It is a strange feeling to be a musician in our time. It is strange to spend six, seven, eight hours a day with your instrument -- honing your skill to exacting perfection to the point where time stands still -- and then step outside of the conservatory onto the streets of a fast-paced city full of crisis, chaos, and commercialization. The two are worlds apart.
But this is when I consider how lucky I am, and how much I wish for others to appreciate beauty in life as well. And this, I believe, starts with what we allow into our bodies and minds.
Do not underestimate for one minute the impact of everything we take in with our eyes and ears. That hot new reality show that everyone talks about, the fashion magazines, the music, the movies. One may say defensively that these things can be enjoyed without being influenced by their subliminal messages. But that is a rather ignorant statement. Just observe the kind of filth that is present in our media, and consider the fact that it exists because there is a market for it, and you get an idea of what we are dealing with: a herd of people who are fascinated with obscenity, materialism and perverseness, and driven by animal tendencies over intelligence. We are the most educated generation in all of history, so why are we not thinking? Why do we blindly accept, like children, what we are fed and told is good?
If we look at history, majority thinking has never led to positive outcome.
People, we live in a part of the world where literacy is so free that it is taken for granted. Yet we are not a reading culture that cares about great ideas to better understand humanity and the universe. Have we become too busy for great ideas? Funny, I heard people waited for hours queuing for the unveiling of Madonna's new collection at H&M. We have certainly become too busy!
This is not an excuse to claim self-importance, because I know myself far too well to take myself that seriously. But I take life issues seriously, I take my work seriously. Besides, self-importance is perhaps the greatest hint of fraudulence.
I am not trying to be a rebel, trying to be snobby, trying to be intellectual. I am trying to shed light on a fog of delusion before it becomes darker and thicker. It is human nature to believe that we are better than our fellow brethren, that 'I am not susceptible to falling into such traps'. And therein lies the danger. Since the deluded are usually deluded about being deluded -- and hence will not heed a word of this plea -- I am then, at the very least, venting.
Listen friends, we live in an era where knowledge has never before been so accessible. We are knowledgeable, yes. But are we wise?
It is a strange feeling to be a musician in our time. It is strange to spend six, seven, eight hours a day with your instrument -- honing your skill to exacting perfection to the point where time stands still -- and then step outside of the conservatory onto the streets of a fast-paced city full of crisis, chaos, and commercialization. The two are worlds apart.
But this is when I consider how lucky I am, and how much I wish for others to appreciate beauty in life as well. And this, I believe, starts with what we allow into our bodies and minds.
Do not underestimate for one minute the impact of everything we take in with our eyes and ears. That hot new reality show that everyone talks about, the fashion magazines, the music, the movies. One may say defensively that these things can be enjoyed without being influenced by their subliminal messages. But that is a rather ignorant statement. Just observe the kind of filth that is present in our media, and consider the fact that it exists because there is a market for it, and you get an idea of what we are dealing with: a herd of people who are fascinated with obscenity, materialism and perverseness, and driven by animal tendencies over intelligence. We are the most educated generation in all of history, so why are we not thinking? Why do we blindly accept, like children, what we are fed and told is good?
If we look at history, majority thinking has never led to positive outcome.
People, we live in a part of the world where literacy is so free that it is taken for granted. Yet we are not a reading culture that cares about great ideas to better understand humanity and the universe. Have we become too busy for great ideas? Funny, I heard people waited for hours queuing for the unveiling of Madonna's new collection at H&M. We have certainly become too busy!
This is not an excuse to claim self-importance, because I know myself far too well to take myself that seriously. But I take life issues seriously, I take my work seriously. Besides, self-importance is perhaps the greatest hint of fraudulence.
I am not trying to be a rebel, trying to be snobby, trying to be intellectual. I am trying to shed light on a fog of delusion before it becomes darker and thicker. It is human nature to believe that we are better than our fellow brethren, that 'I am not susceptible to falling into such traps'. And therein lies the danger. Since the deluded are usually deluded about being deluded -- and hence will not heed a word of this plea -- I am then, at the very least, venting.
posted by Rebecca at
5:30 PM
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