Back to choosing.
It's nice to know we choose everything we do - rational or not, we are the final decision-makers, the creators of what we want to see every morning and night.
I saw Leonardo Dicaprio yesterday, standing a few feet away smoking a cigar, wearing clothes I would wear, walking around in his familiar gait. I didn't talk to him, but it got me thinking about some things. Things that help us versus things that hurt us.
Basically this: people pursue 'dreams' 'hopes' etc. They pick something that seems glamorous, heightened, almost surreal and daydream about "what if"... and it's completely self-destructive.
Disclaimer: the following opinion is completely subject to your judgment. I don't mean to offend, it's just a thought I think.
Hoping is for the lazy. Hoping is losing. It's safe, and it's a prison. Someone with an ounce of ambition understands you don't hope to create something, you either create it or you don't. There is no room for hope, unless it's in reference to only the things that are completely and utterly beyond our power (which things there are very, very few).
And so I see Leo, standing there, looking off towards the street then running up the stairs like he ran to the French girl in the moonlight before kissing her in The Beach - and I realized he didn't hope or dream to do his work, he just works. He smokes his cigar, then gets back to work - on himself, his place in the movies, and the acting jobs themselves. We pedestal everything beyond our reach, make menial truths glittering beacons of "hope." but those same truths are likely the worst case scenario: meaningless jobs that we imbue with meaning. It's just a job, you do it, and sometimes everybody cares. That's what his life is - not some Legendary thing, just a series of friends he made and jobs he was hired for. That's it, nothing more. There's no hope or dream in that, just truth.
All this is said to dumb down the fact that nothing achieved by a human was ever impossible, nor ever will be. If you can imagine it, you can create it. We're like that, we're all gods of creation every day.
But hoping has to be taken out of the process - it's yes or no, everything inbetween is valuable time being squandered.
Something shifted between generations for me - I used to pretend in miraculous ways. Now I see reality is those miraculous truths becoming routine, the twitterpation spoiled and you're left with clean, real Life. That's the secret kings and queens kept from the peasantry - that it was all just a coverup, that everybody could be "king", because being king is no different than being a peasant. I'm like you Mr Dicaprio, a friend and mentor I'm not allowed to speak to, I just want to work.
4 comments:
mikie, you're a byronic hero.
and ps. what about magic?
but i DO love this anyway. i just sprinkle a little magic into my version of reality.
ditto on the byronic
Mikie.
It's so true. Hoping is a good start....but that's all. And for those who hope ONLY.....well, I suppose it's better than those who don't dream at all in the first place. Going back to school reminds me (not to be a total braggart) that us Beattys got something purty ambitious about us. Sure, none of us have anything rich and fancy in our lives....but we are creators and that's huge. I have met alot of kids who have no idea how to speak, write, much less dream in their lives. So there is SOMETHING to hope. It takes a fanciful mind just to have it (even though hope alone is not enough) Alot of people have given up before they're even 23. Or they never had it to begin with.
Have you ever seen that skateboarding documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys? I remember seeing it and in it there was a present-day interview with the guy who was by FAR the best and most amazing skater in his day. He had talent alright. He blew everyone away with his talent, it was almost unbelievable the things he could do on a skateboard. But then he went on to get addicted to drugs, wind up in jail or something, and totally give up skating. Quite tragic really, but a totally common story. Talent lurks in many people, sometimes obscene amounts of talent. But see...I've come to realize (thank god considering my own half assed talents) that talent isn't everything, not even close. It's actually about 25% of what makes success. And hope is about 3 %. (And of course your own VERSION of success really plays into all this.) The rest is ambition and hard hard hard work. Even if it's doing something you love....it's about being productive, making it HAPPEN. But also...I do believe in magic. Which is why I'm a true Christian and all. I DO think there is a god of some sort and a destiny that plays into our hearts, souls, and talents. I mean....enough to where we should keep a look out for the signs that point us in certain direction. Magic is everywhere, but also our choices ARE magical. We are writing the myths that ARE our lives. Our lives are legendary, mythical, as Bonnie Prince Billy puts it.....tremendous.
Hard work is fun. Lately it's my favorite thing ever. Even if it's just sewing, homework, sweeping my porch, vacuuming, practicing music, .....anything productive I am in love with.
Leo, eh? We got married frequently in old dreams I used to have. He would take me for motorcycle rides. Ah,night-dreams. By the time they're memories it's almost as good as real life.
That is a great picture of the 3 of you. That was from our Round top Lake outing right.
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