And Then We Invited The Pope...
And after a few gin & tonics he was like, "Fuck left turns...and, the apocalypse!...and all that jazz."
I really have to admire the Hollywood movie stars and rock and roll juggernauts who have taken time out of their busy schedules to cure the various ills of society; it really is a heartwarmingly benevolent gesture and I think it’s about time we gave them their due - a big round of applause for the conscientious elite everyone!
But come on - do we really believe that these people are going to lead us collectively into the Promised Land? Would they be so quick to act if it weren’t such an appealing public relations event or such a kick-ass tax write off? How much do they (or we, for that matter) really care about our fellow humans? Ask yourself - when was the last time you honestly did something cool for a complete stranger when nobody was looking and there was absolutely nothing substantial in it for you?
Remember the film “Pay It Forward?” Well, anyway, there was this movie and Kevin Spacey was in it and it’s main premise seemed to be to launch this theory on the general population: do something rad for someone else and tell them to do it to someone else and so on. Kind of like a karmic game of tag wherein, ideally, the world’s consciousness will be stirred by this seemingly rootless wave of selfless action from one human to another. The film tanked, but I found the theme of it to be attractive and not without it’s merits.
What if, and I’m just thinking out loud here, we decided not to wait around for Tom Cruise or someone to pull us out of our cultural nosedive? What if we, just average, everyday people, decided to implement some grassroots kind of revolution like ‘pay it forward?’ it’s SO easy and it only takes a second (well, not counting the time it’ll take us each to shake off years of learned and practiced selfishness and apathy). Anyone can do it - you don’t need a license and you don’t have to consult your manager or accountant! Just one selfless act a day is all it would take.
I have experimented with this theory extensively; surprisingly enough I had completely selfish motives! I was looking for some relief from spending so much time in my own head thinking about myself - it was becoming unbearable when a friend suggested what, at the time, seemed a novel idea: get out of yourself by doing selfless things. So since I had no better plan I started doing just that and it actually worked!
So the next time you see an opportunity to help someone out - even if there’s nothing in it for you - do it! I bet you will feel good later and who knows - maybe they’ll do it in turn for someone else; and so on…
I really have to admire the Hollywood movie stars and rock and roll juggernauts who have taken time out of their busy schedules to cure the various ills of society; it really is a heartwarmingly benevolent gesture and I think it’s about time we gave them their due - a big round of applause for the conscientious elite everyone!
But come on - do we really believe that these people are going to lead us collectively into the Promised Land? Would they be so quick to act if it weren’t such an appealing public relations event or such a kick-ass tax write off? How much do they (or we, for that matter) really care about our fellow humans? Ask yourself - when was the last time you honestly did something cool for a complete stranger when nobody was looking and there was absolutely nothing substantial in it for you?
Remember the film “Pay It Forward?” Well, anyway, there was this movie and Kevin Spacey was in it and it’s main premise seemed to be to launch this theory on the general population: do something rad for someone else and tell them to do it to someone else and so on. Kind of like a karmic game of tag wherein, ideally, the world’s consciousness will be stirred by this seemingly rootless wave of selfless action from one human to another. The film tanked, but I found the theme of it to be attractive and not without it’s merits.
What if, and I’m just thinking out loud here, we decided not to wait around for Tom Cruise or someone to pull us out of our cultural nosedive? What if we, just average, everyday people, decided to implement some grassroots kind of revolution like ‘pay it forward?’ it’s SO easy and it only takes a second (well, not counting the time it’ll take us each to shake off years of learned and practiced selfishness and apathy). Anyone can do it - you don’t need a license and you don’t have to consult your manager or accountant! Just one selfless act a day is all it would take.
I have experimented with this theory extensively; surprisingly enough I had completely selfish motives! I was looking for some relief from spending so much time in my own head thinking about myself - it was becoming unbearable when a friend suggested what, at the time, seemed a novel idea: get out of yourself by doing selfless things. So since I had no better plan I started doing just that and it actually worked!
So the next time you see an opportunity to help someone out - even if there’s nothing in it for you - do it! I bet you will feel good later and who knows - maybe they’ll do it in turn for someone else; and so on…