Saturday, February 20, 2010

For better, or for worse.

I believe everything has to get worse initially in order to get better. Somehow things work that way. Think about it, in order to convert a dough into a scrumptious muffin, it has to go through immense heat in the oven. Or take the example of a child, who has to fall and scrape his knees before learning to ride a bike or skate or how he has to struggle in the deep end before he or she learns how to do the butterfly stroke. If you're not convinced, take the simple case of catching a cold or the flu. Your condition inevitably worsens only to get immune to the flu for some time. It seems to a formula that all walks of life use. Take for example a caterpillar morphing into a butterfly. I would call this the 'delayed gratification' formula.

But sadly, this 'delayed gratification' formula is the very thing that seems to be holding human beings back from doing much about the world's impending devastation. It is only when we realize that the ozone has a hole or when the panda is growing extinct that human beings seem to see the need to act. It is when a condition is driven to the a critical point that people see the need to find a solution. But hopefully it isn't too late when we do act and hopefully the formula still stands by the time we are done.

Made-up reality

It's 2010 - two years prior to when the mayan calender predicts the world is going to come to an end. Fact or fiction, no one knows. People and religions churn out other hypotheses of apocalypse and accumulative natural disasters, but no one truly knows what is in store for us. It is in our human nature to make theories in order to make sense of what happens around us. Justifications for what transpires and the invisible hands that mould our future. That is how religion plays such a crucial role in our lifes - it makes all these happenings around us make sense.

On another note, I was just wondering how real reality shows really are. I mean, take the show Survivor as an example. While the 'castaways' eat off fallen coconuts and boiled rice, what do the producers, camera crew and the host eat? And what truly transpires in the hours when they do not telecast anything remains a mystery. In those 1-2 hour snippets, we are shown their hardships and what not, but what about the lapse of time in between the telecasts? For all you know, the contestants meet up and have a glass of beer. Just a random thought. Who knows, maybe they even sensationalize shows and sieve for contestants who can potentially create certain conditions on the show. Everything goes in the tv industry and we get drawn in like drama-hungry consumers. But that's the name of the game. As human beings we tend to create drama in our own lifes anyway, so much so that we lose touch of reality and start living in fantasy worlds of materialistic possessions.

To wrap it up, I think even though these shows and fantasy worlds we create add spice in our lifes, we should never forget to take it with a pinch of salt. What things look like on the exterior, may not be representative of the inner self and one should always attempt to look at that inner soul of anyone that they meet. It is easier said than done, but it is true that you only know half of the story till you try to read the inner half.