Silence is Golden

  If the saying "Silence is golden" is true, how quickly can we cash in on that gold? It seems as though no matter how much we try to slow down or take a breather from life we, as a people, seem to love giving up that silence for whatever the trade-in value is for it the "gold" we trade for the silence.
  So what then, is the absolute value of silence? Is it worth the things we trade for it? The thrill of adventure grander then the sound of ones own thoughts? Can we let go of who we are in the silence to find a life that is worth more? Is a life without silence really worth more?
  Maybe the reason we have the quote to begin with is so we remember the value of the silence we don't always have the gift of having. I understand diving into life's many tasks and oppourtunties can be more than exciting, however, the peace one can experience from letting life go on without them from time to time can be just as wonderous.

Motivational Lies

Motivational Lies

  I'm more than aware it has been all too long since I posted last in this or my book "Oswald". Life has gotten very busy but I'll try to post more often, time permitting. With that being said, I was considering the things that push people into doing what they do and one factor came through clear; we all lie to ourselves.

 Granted, we don't call it "lying" that makes it sound as though it is intentional or like people are committing a sin of sorts and I'm not sure that's the case, but allow me to explain. The motivation I have surge through me is born from a hope that people will read my words and feel something, be it comfort, anger, jealousy or maybe even the "Hmm, I never thought of that" thought. In hindsight I wonder if I'm lying to myself, promising myself an audience that I may never achieve, after all, why would someone spend their time reading something I wrote over something an actual author wrote?

  So what then, does that make my hope? When I'm writing is it for fun or is it because I've promised myself a lie will come true after I finish? I would argue the latter.  When I write personally I dream of people saying "Hey, I loved your story, you should do more." But in actual life, that may never happen. How much more do we, as people, promise ourselves things that probably won't happen? We think that if we do certain things (such as work out) that circumstances will change that we obviously have no affect over (like people being attracted to us). So, are we lying to ourselves about the future or do we really believe that that will actually happen?

  There seems to be a bit of both when we think about it. The chance that practicing guitar for an hour a day will result in being in a world-famous band is a slim chance indeed, but it does exist. Not only that but the feeling of knowing that you can play guitar is something that can propel you forward, further into learning experiences. 

  I can't promise dreams come true, if they all did I know that my life would be drastically different. Love lies to us, people leave and thoughts are extinguished without a second chance. The idea in life is to push forward, accomplishing what we want to do, and sometimes what we feel we need to do, to be a better person tomorrow than we were today. If that person, the "better" version of us knows ballet then we need to stop at nothing to learn ballet. The only way to be happy with life is learning to be happy with yourself, then bettering that self by accomplishing things you deem important.

Choking on the "Future"

Choking on the "Future"

  You start up the internet and log into Facebook, you'll only be on for a minute, you just want to make sure that party is this weekend, not next weekend. As you do you type in your Email and password and, it's wrong. You type it again, maybe you hit the wrong button or caps-lock was on. You retype the password, then hit "Enter" with a bit more intensity, still wrong. The next step is one of two different ones; you either retype the password and pound enter just a bit harder or you go through trying your Twitter password, your Email password and any other passwords you can think of off of the top of your head, determined to get to the social networking that awaits you.

  There isn't a problem with social networking, its a fun, easy way to keep up on events and other people, the problem I've been having is social consumption. I have friends (quite a few) who sit on the computer hoping and waiting for something interesting to happen on Facebook. They wait for a status that is offensive or funny enough that other people get involved and then things are "exciting" I'm not saying a little bit of Facebook conversation isn't interesting to watch, as people we enjoy watching the interactions between others, that's why we love movies so much. There are two problems as I see it, one is social over-exposure.

  Social over-exposure is simple and easy to fall into. You just have to update your Twitter about what you ate, tell everyone that you're working the 9-5 again, post a quick picture of your new shades to Instagram and then check your Blog to make sure people viewed it over the weekend and you're all set. I know people are meant to interact and be social, but do we really need to drown ourselves in the idea that just because we're talking means others are listening? In short, I'd say no. Granted you can point the finger at me and say "But you're blogging, obviously you expect people to read about your life, why can't I expect the same?" The line is drawn between people who have a blog or blogs who have an author. Personally I'm not consumed with my Blog, it's a nice release of thoughts but if I were to post daily, making t-shirts with my web address on it and told all my friends to check it out, that may be a bit much.

  The second problem with social networking is simply, why? Why do we need to let people know what we're doing every couple of hours or minutes? It's partly because we are, undeniably social as people. We like to interact, chat, give and receive approval. The difference, again, is if we're sharing important parts of our lives with others or if we're trying to use Instagram as our picture-autobiography. Connecting with others is important, some would even argue that it's vital to being healthy, whole human beings. Just make sure that your social networking time doesn't cut into your social time.--Mattaghetti

By the way, remember to follow me on twitter @mattaghetti