So here I am in the year 2005; the year where the treacherous Decepticons are destined to conquer the Autobot’s home planet of Cybertron. (Roll on Transformers:The Movie 20th Anniversary edition!) How the hell do I feel about arriving at this year that once seemed the stuff of animated sci-fi? Eager is the right word, I guess. I’m eager to find ways to make good of this year, as opposed to sitting back and hoping the year does good by me. I’ve grown somewhat tired of that over the years. At the start of the year I realised that, for all my talk and belief in free will, I’ve been allowing myself to coast along (or be coasted along on) a cloud of coincidence and fate – determinism, if you will people. In times past I’ve always sat on my arse, saying: “I hope Year X brings me this, that and the other”; hoping without putting in the effort to realize anything.
It’s the slave or disciple complex, I guess; wanting everything to fall into one’s lap purely on the strength of hope and prayer. This is the reason why people slide further and further into the shit of mediocrity, weighed down by the ever growing dreams and schemes in their greying minds. This is the reason why idealism is so often derided in our cynical, quick-fix culture.This is why idealistic people are often sneered at by society at large. The concept of hope, much like the notion of love, is lifted high and venerated as an unconditional virtue; something to hold on tight to no matter what. This has contributed to the entitlement mentality running rife in current society, no doubt.
Think hope (or love) is all you need? Bullshit! Hope alone won’t save the world any more than love will; good intentions often manifest in bad actions, or no actions at all. Without hunger/drive and clarity of purpose, hope is a redundant luxury – an opiate.
I’d even go as far as to say that there’re some instances where mere hope is destructive; try telling the battered wife to give up the hope of change in her abusive husband; try telling a terminal patient to endure excruciating pain for the off-chance of a turnaround. In a circumstance where failure is assured, is it better to have hope that will be betrayed, or no hope at all?
Once more, I’m eager to shape 2005 to my own ends, as opposed to being shaped by it. Fuck fate – tis time to turn these hopes to tangibility!
~MRDA~
There’s so much more to this post than what I am about to say…
“HOLY CRAP- it’s been 20 years since I sat in a near-empty theatre with my high school friends and watched that movie premiere?”
Carry on now, the old lady geek is going to bed.
Right-on reverend mrda!…heeh. I couldn’t agree more with you. We indeed do need to shape our or futures, lest we fall into the pit of mediocrity you mentioned. I only hope I can pull myself out of said pit. Good luck with your new resolution!
ciao
Meli