new stuff

Well, as I haven’t written anything in a long time on this blog, I decided it was time to change topics. I no longer really care about whether or not movies are good – at least not enough to write about it. Instead, I am broadening my horizons to write about whatever the hell I feel like.
I’ll start with some thoughts following a show I saw last night – Henry Rollins.
Wow, what an individual. The guy is the patron saint of all people who feel like outsiders. I’m not trying to sound like I’m some angst-fueled troubled individual screaming my loathing of the ignorant masses and blah blah blah. But I don’t exactly base my life on the status quo….
At any rate, he mentioned how as he grows older he is becoming less cynical.
He credited this change to his experience traveling to various nations (mostly impoverished or war-torn) and witnessing first hand both the tragic conditions that people live in, as well as how miraculous those people are who, in the midst of all this chaos and tragedy, fight to help or to survive day after bloody day.
And truly, it was a reminder I needed right about now. How petty and insignificant most of my problems really are in comparison with others.
Not that in their own context they are meaningless and such, but it made me realize that to truly see things for how they are, we need to embrace change so that we constantly have fresh perspective. Nothing exactly revolutionary in that, but it never ceases to amaze me how my natural tendency (and I’m sure it’s the same with most other people) is to gravitate back to old habits, old ruts, and eventually become frustrated at the same repetitive experiences. While most people really can’t afford to just up and leave whatever their situation is – and some are more stuck than others – I believe it is in most people’s power to embrace change of some sort or other. This could be anything from a new hobby, traveling to new places, meeting new people, etc. With all the shit that’s out there, why on Earth should we limit ourselves to such a small array of experiences?
Personally, if I had the time and resources, I would want to do so many things it would be ridiculous. People SHOULD be curious about the world. If you aren’t, I would really like to know why.
Back to the subject of cynicism though. In this humble bloggers opinion cynicism is fueled by repetitiveness. For example, when I have to drive for 30-40 minutes in rush hour traffic twice every weekday, and I see the same examples of people being selfish and ignorant on the road, through the consistency of this exposure it might gradually seep into my sub-conscious that the majority of people are selfish and ignorant. How in the hell am I justified in this conclusion? These people that display driving tendencies that I find infuriating are perhaps merely other people who are infuriated with the other drivers around them and are consequently acting what they deem to be an appropriate manner.
This whole driving thing is merely an example of course. The point is, we should periodically be questioning our conclusions about things, and if there is anyone we should ever be hasty to be cynical of, it should be ourselves. Well, perhaps not cynical, but certainly critical. I just wanted to say cynical cuz it was a nice little way to wrap up this article….