These days television
reality shows are popular. Apparently we cannot have enough of our realities
that we must have television shows involving real people showing their
emotions and behaviour in real time or time when the shows are being filmed.
How real are these so called reality shows? And what it is that makes these
shows appealing to the masses? The participants appear to be cool individuals
who carry on with their acts and conversations as they are captured on these
cameras. The heated arguments and the tension between people who are
competing in a race or a game show are thus captured and displayed
publicly. Do we need to watch couples or friends or family members quarrel so
that we know it is part and parcel of a relationship? These shows can make or
break a relationship . It is a battle of wits and wills; most participants are
not on their best behaviour when they are confronted with challenges which will
ultimately determine the winner. Maybe the audience want to be reminded about
how similar our needs are and we are not alone in our emotions and conflicts as
it is all part of our human nature and how the world is really about
survival for the fittest.
A month ago, I watched
the movie “ Tree of Life”, a meditative film where the story unfolds against
the beautiful cinematography and the underlying themes about aging, life and
humanity. The protagonist, Jack O’Brien finds himself a lost soul in the modern
world and contemplates about the meaning of life as he thinks about his
childhood and his parents. He thinks about his strict and authoritarian dad who
is irritable and lives in regrets about not following his passion of becoming a
musician and instead become an engineer. Jack’s dad tried to prepare his sons
for a world he sees as corrupt and exploitative and he hoped to become rich by
selling some of the inventions but unsuccessful. While Jack’s dad laments the course his life
has taken, Jack’s mother is a symbol of grace who takes life in its stride as
she grieves for the loss of one of her teenage sons. In between telling the
ordinary story of a middle class family, there are stunning cosmic imagery that
represents the beauty of the universe. I enjoyed the cinematography thoroughly.
As a young adult, I lacked
the sense of urgency which was deemed a character flaw in our modern life. When
I started working, I developed a sense of urgency as it was necessary in the
legal profession to observe time line.
In order to avoid any undesirable consequences, whether it was to do
with submitting and filing in court documents or preparation and completion of
documentation for various legal purposes, observing time line was an absolute
must. Although procrastinating a task is much frowned upon in terms of
professionalism and efficacy thus best avoided, sometimes a delay could turn
out to be a blessing in disguise. Due to a delay, a client can sometimes find a
better approach to his or her problems or reach an alternative solution or by default there are changes to the circumstances of the matter. There may also be some
occasions where the laws had changed whether by the legislature or through
interpretation by the courts as a result , a postponement might work towards
one’s benefit.
Reality sets in when it
dawns on you that you have been caught in a race against biological clock,
goals and contingency at every stage of your life, day in day out you soldier on and discharge your duties and
responsibilities whether they are related to work or your home. You wish you could be in a time
warp which allows time to stand
still for you to figure out what you are doing and really want to do in your lifetime. Over the years, multiple
tasks, some mundane while others more challenging and mostly repetitious become an integral part of your daily
routine and that is when you are officially grown up.
There may come a time it is imperative that we feel we must get to do
what we really want to be involved
in. By then we may have become so entrenched with what we are accustomed to
doing and we are too afraid to leave our familiar grounds. I recently read John
Grisham’s latest novel “the Litigators” where the protagonist decides to quit
the top solicitors firm he was working with and join the street lawyers. Maybe that only happens in
fictions where all things will turn out well. Nonetheless you hear of success
stories where people end up pursuing their dreams. All it takes is
determination and conviction and self indulgence.
Amsterdam |
As a rule we prefer to
stay in our comfort zone rather than venture out in unfamiliar terrain. We
prefer the tried and tested routes so did our parents and their parents. Being
unorthodox is not safe and most of us are too afraid not to conform for fear that we may make mistakes or
decisions which we will regret. Perhaps the majority of us acknowledge that we
are no visionaries so we stay in line with convention and try to lead a life
worth living . Is our lack of
imagination attributable to the education system or our upbringing or social
conditioning? Maybe. Most of us have been ingrained with the fear that if we do
not have a job, we shall have no
money and may be shunned as pariahs so since young, we are expected to study
hard and pursue a degree or qualification which will get us gainful employment
regardless of whether some of us may be academically challenged. We tell the young ones that if they do not pursue a qualification or some skills which are in demand , their future will be bleak. If only
we could be brave and cast aside our fear for the uncharted and be benevolent and not beat
ourselves about for not achieving material success , we may just have a faint
idea about what we like to pursue. If only we could catch a breather amidst our daily
grinds, we may have an inkling about what we like to take a chance upon. Hopefully with some conviction, we too may follow our hearts if we choose to .