I’ve neglected to write for a while. Though convenient it is to use the hustle and bustle of a daily work schedule as an excuse, it leaves me feeling that my literary skills are deterioriating as rapidly as time speeds by these days. Since when should anyone heed any attention to excuses anyway?
I am troubled with my own inactions these days; these concerns revolve not of what could have been, but on the lack of absolute care that I am so quick to (not) feel. It is surprising how troublesome a moderately good (this varies comparatively) lifestyle can be; when one’s daily routine consists of a modicum of events strung together over the months into a comfortable and overly familiar pattern. My greatest enemy is sloth. I tend to lose these battles during my free time.
Outside of my free time is another story. Active challenges at work do provide me a steady dynamic to work with, and I look back on the workweek with appreciation and satisfaction. It’s not exactly a paradise, corporate life that is, but just about everything has its ups and downs. How rare and amazing must it be for an individual to do what he/she truly loves for a living. I believe these few exceptions are showcased by the media (and ourselves) in a way that they falsely represent a higher percentage of Americans than is accurately so. Many may fool themselves into thinking they are truly in love with their work, and I do not blame them so. It is in human nature to do so and when presented with such few outs, especially in the current state of the world we are in, it is perhaps more practical (though blind) to do so.
These self-delusions do not draw the line at careers alone. Every facet of our culture and our lifestyles is embedded with reinforcing thoughts of support. We carry out actions to uphold our beliefs and our principles. When we fail to achieve what we set out to do, or when something does not fall in line with our reasoning, our temperament shifts. There is an initial answer to anything gone wrong, whether its rising sales amidst a recession (“the video game industry must be recession-proof as consumers look for alternative stay-at-home entertainment options” analysts say), a hasty judgment call on a fellow’s integrity over one drunken night, a bad call in a poker game (“it was necessary, to learn his style” you say), or a conclusive and satisfying interpretation of a Bible passage written generations ago. Someone somewhere has an answer or a proposed cause for any question or event, and will stand firm in his/her belief to the bittersweet end. This amuses me.
I conclude with an idea: I would love to see the most prominent figures and persons of faith in each of the major religions of our world stuck in a room. Or how about, 7 of these strangers picked to live in a house together, and watch their lives get taped, so we can see what happens when people stop being fake, and start being real… The Religious World on MTV!
It is immediately clear what would unfold if this Real World setup were to materialize. Either A) one by one each roommate would come to the mind-boggling revelation of how he/she was misled since birth and choose to be re-born as a devoted follower of the one religion that holds the universal truths (not likely) or B) viewers would be exposed to the most drama-filled season of reality television ever.
