I always admire people who can make an unequivocal choice: they choose their profession at ten years old, at fourteen they make a CPM network schedule for the rest of their lives, they are always optimistic and motivated, are creative, and a pleasure for their family, friends and colleagues.
They always have been working at some project(s) in Africa or India (“they have fallen in love with it”) and know what poverty and self discipline is, but at the same time, having passed their 40th year of age, they drive a USV 4-wheel drive, own at least two houses and a yacht.
Because of the success they had in their career, they are often asked as a keynote speaker on conferences. They have been asked to become a politician many times, but they preferred the business world with network connections to education and universities.
Next to their business positions they are chairperson or board members of at least one charity foundation.
They have written and published at least one book, mostly a book about how something can and must be improved (your career, your personality, society, business, management, always “spiritual” and are now busy with a second bestseller. They are wonderful parents and their children are proud to have such a father / mother.
This is what they do. Now what they don’t do.
They don’t waste time with irrelevant hobbies such as fishing, cooking, horses, dogs, collecting stamps, etc. Of course they have a hobby (cooking when they cook once every three months, or dogs if they own a dog they never walk with – ever seen a celebrity walking with his/her dog in the park? They never do useless things such as counting the tiles in the bathroom while doing what they have to do, maintaining a photoblog, watching TV, doing the dishes, searching the whole city and Internet for a special item they need for a repair job, and other dull John Doe activities.
They don’t read articles about successful people, instead they call them for appointments or simply a chat.
I envy these people because of what they have, not because of what they do. I would also like to have all these things: celebrity, houses, yacht, charisma, the skills to immediately know what the trends are and knowing how to respond on them, clearly visible in word and image. I don’t like doing what they do and/or I don’t master the competencies needed for it. Having your agenda completely filled with appointments, meetings, travels, storing everything in your or your secretary’s memory, always showing strong motivation for things I find taken for granted, boring repetition or fashionable hot air. Hot air? What a disdain! Look how much money you can make out of hot air!
But sometimes… I read about somebody who actually HAS all these things, and also hates the things I also hate, and also does what John Doe also does. And then I get an indescribable feeling of failure. Why not me? Oh, I should have lived like he did! If only in 19.. I wouldn’t have done this-or-that, if only I wasn’t so stupid to…, if only …
And I fall in the trap of relentless ego-lamentation. Poor me! And I look helplessly around me. And then I discovered the photoblog. It really helps, you feel accepted and sometimes even admired! Make a good picture, look around at other pictures, discuss the content, admire other people’s products and get admired, enjoy visual beauty, get stunned about free and super-fast communication, get hooked.
But then, after half a year of photoblogging, the old feeling comes back. You see that somebody owns a couple of Canons and Leica’s. You have started with a mobilephone, and now you have a small pocketcamera. You see that these Leica’s produce better pictures. You hate Photoshop, because it’s fake, you think. And you see how Photoshop can make a piece of art out of a bad picture, and how these artifacts are admired…. The little devil whispers: buy also such a beautiful camera with a couple of lenses. Why? I think I postpone it, I know it’s the old feeling again and I don’t like that. It’s all psychology.
4 comments:
Psychology is fascinating. That craving for the newest, biggest, brightest, etc., is skillfully cultivated by those who want us to spend our money buying their goods. It's difficult to resist, even when one can identify the marketing techniques employed to manipulate one into parting with one's hard-earned cash. Am I anti-capitalist? No. But I have tried to teach my kids to beware of the trickery of commercialism. Of course, I have to teach myself the same lessons every week or so.
Thanks, Evie for your support, I realize we are the last people on earth to complain ourselves. This morning I read an interview with a few Taliban fighters, these people and their victims have other thing to bother about than making nice photos, there are only victims over there, even the interviewees themselves.
I know exactly what you mean and share similar experiences -- I could write more but there's a good few emails in my inbox and I've got to tidy up before the cleaners come!
Thanks your thoughts on this on-going point of tension within our lives. As a couple, Gayle and I are in a limited financial position due to our calling in life. As we have gotten older and have witnessed those of our age generation grow in wealth and possessions, I am ashamed to admit that we have gone through periods of ego-lamentation. Our position in life will not change - we will retire on a very limited pension. Living in a culture that measures success based on what you have and the financial means by which they are attained can be challenging. We have to constantly remind ourselves of the real purpose of life, of why we are here. No matter what our consumer driven world says, IT'S NOT ABOUT US! It's about a life that is much bigger than ourselves, that is filled with God's amazing possibilities for us to live out. I don't want to spiritualize everything, but it keeps me grounded, from becoming discontent with things that in the end mean nothing.
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