Obsessions and Reality

That seems pretty obvious. Of course obsessions are never a good thing...and yet we endorse them... regularly. Take Internet for instance. Now there is a rather unhealthy obsession that society has become completely enthralled with. So much so those who choose not to have internet suffer social exclusion. I mean with out Internet how could you possibly know what that friend you have never spoken to in your life did 3 Sundays ago when he almost burned the eggs he was cooking and then proceeded to tweet about it. Or what about the never ending pictures of that acquaintance you barely know you wouldn't be able to see. And you'd never know who was dating who or who was married or who had kids without Facebook.

Or how about society's OTHER obsession: eating. Now don't get me wrong, as a university student I've learned the importance of eating because not eating can be seriously hazardous to one's learning. But, our cultures around the world have turned eating into a social event with bloating capabilities, rather a menial task that needs to be performed merely to keep ourselves from passing out and or dying. However, being on a tour with the universities, I've discovered just how important food is. Not eating is almost considered offensive even if you aren't really hungry at all. Good to know that no matter what country you may be in, that fact seems to remain constant.

So why the sudden outburst against societal flaws that I am just as obsessed with all of you, Faithful Readers?  Simply because the reality is, that is what life is all about...Identifying something that you should fix, or solve, or erase and doing very little to stop it simply because living without internet would be as impossible as living without eating. Think about it...we rely on our connection to the internet so much that when we are cut off from it we loose all hope and fall into a rather horrifying depression that makes even the most steadfast quiver in fear. The thought of no internet is so outlandish, so unbelievable, so unrealistic that we find it almost laughable, yet something as terrible as poverty or hunger is believable and very real. Internet is a luxury, one that we can live without if we had to (yes, i know horrifying) but eating should never be considered a luxury.

But I'm no better, I'm just like all of you Faithful Readers. I can't change the world, and probably neither can you. But, that doesn't change the fact that our society might be distracted by fancy toys and gadgets and loosing touch with reality. Perhaps we should work to make reality our obsession. A reality where children in a school yard have drive-by shooting drills, where people live in poverty and starvation, where hearts are broken and rarely pieced together, where filth can be found sometimes a mouse click away, where pain is considered common-place, and where so many people are confused and disoriented. But our realities aren't hopeless, our realities are filled with light and with bright horizons. We just need to discover the light within all the dark.

Perhaps this is wishful thinking, and perhaps this is not a likely sanario where people join together to help others, but I like to think so. And since this is my blog, I can say whatever I want. So you can disagree with me, but i believe in hope, but I also believe that hope takes work!

Sorry for the soapbox, but I felt like i needed to say it...sarcasm will be back again soon don't you worry.

Signing Off,
DG