Me, Me, Me!

A realisation...

Its true that whenever we see a fellow person who is extremely beautiful, confident or has a particular talent we admire, we nearly always want it for ourselves. Am I right? We read someone's excellent piece of writing and become envious of their ability, why can't I be as good as them? Why don't I look like that? Why can't I do that?

I'm not even going to try and pretend like I don't think like that because we all do it, all the time. I feel like its been ingrained in us, probably from birth, to want every good thing in the world to come from us. 

Why is it that when we look at a beautiful person we don't think wow, isn't it incredible that someone so attractive is in the world, like a piece of art to be captivated by, and I have the opportunity to witness it? Why is it that when someone does exceptionally well in the science test you barely passed you don't think its great that that person is going to go on one day and make incredible discoveries in the line of science, and may even improve our world? Why is it that when we hear someone with a stunning singing voice who can reach notes far surpassing our range, we don't sit back and enjoy the way their voice makes us feel and be grateful for such a gift being brought into the world?

More often than not we don't see the magic in these people's abilities because we want them for ourselves. We become envious and even can come to dislike the person. Another interesting example is the idea of unrequited love. You love someone, they don't love you back and instead of being delighted that there is someone on earth who can make you feel such a remarkable feeling, who is very near perfection in your eyes, we're really upset because we don't have them for ourselves.

I've never met a person who hasn't had something beautiful to give to the world, not one. We truly are all different. I can't fully understand the concept of "identical" which is a fabulous by product of being human. Where did the idea of "me" come from and why do we feel it so strongly? Praise seeking and craving love and attention could be it, the whole idea of survival of the fittest from evolution or taking a Freudian approach it could just be mysteriously built in our egos.

I don't have all the answers, just a desire to really appreciate beauty in all forms, to look at someone's talent with awe and gratitude, not jealousy and bitterness.This thought has been a muse of mine and I want it to be a muse of yours. Maybe you'll realise the secret, maybe you'll make a breakthrough. 

Good luck!

Love, 

Rachel! :)

Guilty Pleasures.

Guilty pleasure is a commonly used term in our society today. I have guilty pleasures, you probably have guilty pleasures, but have we ever really questioned the origin of our guilt? In this blog post, I'm going to take an everyday guilty pleasure of mine, examine what I feel guilty about and ask the crucial question of why. 

My most recently formed guilty pleasure would have to be "Gossip Girl", the rather popular TV series about the lives (and endless gossip) of New York's elite. 

So what is it about the show which causes me to feel slightly embarrassed and a need to justify my watching of it whenever I mention it to other people?

Its probably because the plot is hardly particularly intellectual. When you analyse and attempt to sum up what its all about you realise its just a lot of very attractive people in beautifully made clothing cruising through the upper east side with so much money that college degrees are just *quote* "accessories".

It represents and glamorises a lot of things that I disagree with. For example, as mentioned above, all of the main characters are filthy rich, practically wear a different outfit in every shot and this lifestyle is made to look super cool and luxurious. You fall in love with characters whose behaviour you really shouldn't grow fond of (I am completely obsessed with a character who attempted rape twice in the series and a girl who is the pillar of mean insecurity and manipulates and verbally abuses practically everybody.) The cherry on top is that the one voice of opposition to this plastic and fake world is made look like a crazily over the top, opinionated lunatic! 

Therefore, due to its vanity, shallowness and severely differing morals, I've put it in the "that's kind of embarrassing" box. But why? Well, I guess its pretty simple when you look at it head on, we seem to care about what other people think of us, our reputation and what we're known for. I'm certain we all have priority characteristics programmed into our heads from life which are the backbone to undergoing and justifying all of our decisions, actions and beliefs. Now what do I mean by that? Well, let's say if someone really took pride in being a realistic person, ( or it could be cool, nice, truthful, courageous, positive anything) from people they've known, things they've seen and experiences they've had, they've unconsciously grown attached to the desire that anyone who describes them, names that adjective. And that is the main reason why, I feel, we have guilty pleasures. Furthermore, if we looked deeper into the reasons why, maybe its not just about our reputation and other people's thoughts on us but maybe we're half keeping it a secret from ourselves. Do we even fully admit to ourselves that we like this thing or do we just justify a reason for the obsession?

So what's your conclusion? Think of your own guilty pleasure in your life, what makes you guilty and why. Do you think we should feel guilty? I suppose it depends. If you're guilty pleasure proves harmful to other people should you still act on it because you want to? And where does the mind play in this? Guilty pleasures seem like a head vs heart debate to me but I don't think it has to be. While there's something kind of nice about a guilty pleasure and all that it entails, I suppose one has to look at their life and ask why they feel they can't be open about this thing they are attracted to and why they're attracted to it. What's missing in their life?
And lastly, I definitely don't think that just because your guilty pleasure may be regarded as stupid or shallow then that instantly means you are. Perhaps you are just curious about another side of life? Difference can be enthralling in itself.

Anyway enough with all the questions, get pondering and form your own conclusion!

Don't repress your feelings because they're there for a reason! Always deal with them mentally or physically!

                                                          Love,
                                                              Rachel! =)