social commentary – Page 2

I Miss When People Made Mixtapes

Remember the good ole days of burned CDs and mixtapes on cassette? This one here does. It’s crazy how the new generation doesn’t remember these things and God I feel old for saying that but it really is a blast from the past, you know?

I remember when I asked a friend of mine to burn a CD for me for the first time so I could play it in the car. I gave him a list but he managed to put in a few pleasant surprises in there that really made me happy. It was a special feeling. Then I learned how to do it myself and everyone got CDs.

The way we share music has changed. Barely anyone has the time anymore to just check out some music you send them. The music scene is saturated right now so we have too many options and also, there are just way too many distractions online. With a video tempting you to click it with a clickbait title or a juicy social media thread; we’ve spread ourselves thin.

Nowadays we just pay a subscription fee and we can have unlimited downloads. I’m guilty myself of downloading music I’m never going to listen to. Whereas in the past we had to scour a file sharing site for the best quality upload so we could download it onto our MP3 player and risk getting a virus infection on our computer.

Mixtapes used to be personal. They had your name on it, they were your signature. You got the chance to be a curator, or a DJ. A tastemaker. And mixtapes came with their own titles like “music to listen to when you’re sad” or “music that makes you dance.” It was almost like the art of making a playlist as where if you had one skippable track on the whole thing then it was a dud. It’s crazy how romantic it seems now looking in hindsight.

I’m not saying I don’t like the advantage of having access to hundreds of thousands of songs in great qualify readily available. I just miss the times where we paid special close attention to the details. Where we tried to create music for an occasion. For the right moment. Music pairs well with experiences as they imprint memories in your head that last a lifetime.

All I’m saying is that if someone wanted to send me a mixtape titled “songs that make me think of your beautiful face,” I wouldn’t be mad.

But just kidding.

Blood, Sweat, but Mostly Tears

Let me paint you a picture.

A young man is troubled with growing pains.

When he was younger, everything was simpler. Everybody played together and less thought was given to what clique you were a part of or how you looked for that matter.

He found that when he got to high school, he felt invisible. Some “better looking” and more “suitable” guy stole the girl of his dreams.

He graduates high school and is looking for his place in the world. He suffers from interminable loneliness. All he knows is that he loves art. He sees artists in the media attracting lots of attention and he thinks “I can do that. Why should they get all the praise?”

So he locks himself away in his room. Working on his craft day and night. Determined to prove himself.

He starts to see some success and is getting more attention. Suddenly, people want to be around him. He forms a group of so-called friends who supposedly are there to secure his rise to the top. Then he finds that the industry is shady and he loses a lot of friends because of it. Some even stabbing him in the back.

He grows even colder. “Now I really won’t let anyone in. I’ll become the biggest artist in the world and all the fame and glory will be for me and me alone.”

So he becomes a chart topping success almost overnight. Now many women want to be with him but one stands out in particular.

This woman is very beautiful and she is also very popular so he thinks it would be a good look for him. The two date but he finds they have nothing in common. She only wants to talk about shallow things. At night he lies with her but it’s like lying next to a stranger.

Finally he makes enough money to be able to afford a big mansion in the hills. He moves the woman in with him and they have children.

One day he is sitting by himself and he thinks: “Why did I have children with this woman I don’t even love? Now I have everything I ever wanted. The fame. The money. The house on the hills and the trophy wife. But I still feel as empty as I did when I first started… I don’t want any of this anymore.”

So the boy, now a man plans his escape but it seems there’s nowhere for him to disappear to except a place you can’t come back from.

“So long world, you were never fair to me.”

And so… ends his long and arduous tale.

Why Nothing I Have to Say Really Matters

Nothing.

I used to want my opinion to matter but now I’m not so sure.

My opinion is always changing. I’ve gone from religious to atheistic to religious again and then spiritual.

So if my viewpoint is always changing why should anyone take it serious or even literal?

They shouldn’t.

I’m starting to feel that no one should take anything I have to say seriously.

It’s true what they say about your opinion being the only one that matters.

And it’s true because your beliefs and views shape the world around you. If you let outside input determine the way you look at you and the world, you will end up with a distorted perception. Which is what most people have anyway.

A hundred years from now, I’m sure no one will remember the things I had to say. Unless I’m somehow immortalized. Even still I can’t see it mattering much in the long run.

I’m sure this post will probably even fade from your memory in time.

So why say anything at all?

Well, there’s no real reason to say anything. Still, we have a lot of opinions.

Sometimes we can say something that will uplift someone or make them laugh or smile. So the things we say do have a impact but does everything have to be taken so literal? I think not.

A lot of times people don’t know what they think for sure (including me) and their recall of events is somewhat shot as well.

It seems what most people say out loud is not dependable.

Everything should be taken with a grain of salt. Even words from people who are known gurus or known to be smart or intellectual.

Don’t let anyone be the single determiner of your thoughts and feelings. That all lies on you. It falls on your shoulders to find the truth for yourself or simply what works for you.

So yeah, don’t even take this post serious. That is, unless you want to.

It is the process of freedom.

Ping!

Time after time, I check my results.

So much it begs the question “who am I really doing this for?”

Am I still finding that my sense of acceptance must come from outside of myself?

If so I am illusioned.

On the one hand, I understand that a desire for approval is almost innate in human beings.

From the moment we are born we learn to depend on our parents for everything. So much that we even begin to depend on them for our emotional well being. Thinking that similarly flawed human beings hold the key is backwards thinking.

Parents can teach you a lot. But something you must learn to do on your own is love yourself for who you are.

Despite everything.

As long as your self-esteem is dependent on the likes and comments you receive in this ensnaring digital world, you are a slave to perception.

Perception is subjective and therefore how you feel about you becomes subjective.

I’m not saying it’s easy to escape this cycle but by understanding it a little bit more each time you slowly weaken the choke hold that it has on you and your self-esteem.

I’m Not Time Conscious Anymore

I stopped keeping track of time.

Hours, minutes, days… it’s all relative to me.

When I’m at work, I no longer count down the time until I’m free to go.

When I’m at home, I no longer count down the time until I have to go back to work.

I’m just here.

Relishing in the moment. And I’m loving every minute of it (no pun intended).

I’ve stepped into a different “dimension”. A world where time is illusory and everything flows as a continuous now.

I’ve heard it takes years of meditating and a higher consciousness to enter such a state but I’ve done it in such a short time.

I also find myself not having much to say about it. There’s really nothing to say. Except this post I’m writing to you.

When you live in the world of manmade time, focusing on the minutes that have passed or that will, the hours… You are living in the past and future. You are no longer in touch with the secret of nature that we all are apart of.

When you live in the here and now, everything is perfect. Even mistakes. People. People are perfect. Everything is the way it is and you don’t find yourself asking for more.

Because it is enough.

Just to be here.