As I lay on my set of box-springs disguised as a mattress reading, the song on my playlist changed. The song distracted me from my reading and reminded me of the end of my freshman year and beginning of my sophomore year of college. It reminded me of a time that I was pretty stupid and foolish.
A time when my little silly world was the most important thing around.
It got me thinking about the big picture. This has been something on my mind recently as it applies to culture. In particular, the horrible disease known as ethnocentrism. I am convinced that this disease, which is instinctual, is caused by a lack of seeing the big picture. The same goes for selfishness and egocentrism.
My world became the most important thing because I failed to see what else was going on around me.
That is, I am 1 person of 6.5 billion people. I am 1 person of 300 million citizens of the United States.
Perhaps it is our individualist culture, which indoctrinates people with things like, “You can change the world”, “You can make a difference”, “Dream it and it will happen…” and so on. Don’t get me wrong. Pursue your dreams. One person CAN effect change. But where would that one person be without the people who rallied around him and continued his dream after his death? I am 1 person.
The big picture includes others. Our lives, our actions, touch people around us—often times unbeknownst to us. Our mistakes, our tragedies affect other people. Our family. Our friends. Our loss is shared by others. Our happiness is shared by those same people.
This same big picture applies to culture. My culture is 1 culture, many of which are older.
The big picture leaves us small, which is perhaps why we often miss it. No one wants to be smaller. In our own worlds, we are so important. This song, which triggered further thoughts, brought me back to silly times when such trivial actions were so serious and important in life, when in reality… they were just a fleeting thing. Just a few years down the road, the events are merely memories—memories that are only ever conjured when a song or topic triggers it.
The big picture includes our entire lives—past, present, and future. Who we were has shaped us now, and who we are now and what we do now will shape our future. Today is affected by yesterday and will affect tomorrow.
The big picture, brought to you by a random song on a random playlist.
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3 comments:
I get that feeling when I listen to "Under Pressure," too, man.
Keep up the good thoughts, you devil.
Very thought-provoking article.I like to share this quote that I once saw in a firend's writing with you.
"So the journey is over and I am back again where I started, richer by much experience and poorer by many exploded convictions, many perished certainties. For convictions and certainties are too often the concomitants of ignorance. Those who like to feel they are always right and who attach a high importance to their own opinions should stay at home. When one is traveling, convictions are mislaid as easily as spectacles; but unlike spectacles, they are not easily replaced." - Aldous Huxley
Great work.
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