Superficial Obsession

Russell Brand said something rather insightful on an American news channel.  The news panel were commenting on his attire and one guy said he might start dressing like Brand.  Brand retorted by observing everyone is obsessed by the superficial; he said not to focus on what he was wearing but by what he was saying.  He seemed to be a little bewildered by the show he was being interviewed on and said the problem with today's climate is everyone focuses on the superficial.

Brand is a bit of an enigma as his critique of the obsession with the superficial appears to directly conflict with his rather lavish lifestyle.  He may have said it with a smattering of irony, but I do think he meant it and regardless of its apparent hypocrisy he was right.  And after all, I think Brand revels in the irony of himself.

What Brand said though was utterly true as we (society) are painfully fixated on the superficial and false perceptions of humanity.  How am I perceived?  How do I perceive others?  We all make snap judgments about others because of what they wear, eat, say and do.  Being a restaurant manager I regularly assume something about a person as soon as they walk into my place - sometimes I am right and sometimes I am wrong.  The superficial dictates my assumptions about others though.  Judge not lest ye be judged.

The problem though, is we feed this superficiality and craving to be seen.  What disappointment we feel when people fail to 'like' a photo we upload of ourselves; a photo we were sure was going to get us a mini bit of attention for a few hours.  Don't get me wrong, most of us, most of the time want to share our lives with others because we're proud of the things we see and do.  Sometimes though, we feed the beast that says how we look and dress dictates our worth and the only way to find out our worth is how many 'friends' and 'followers' acknowledge our efforts.

In the darkest nights of my soul I wanted people to believe I was a care free rebel without a cause, living life on the edge; in fact I was a scared, vulnerable, suicidal young man.  Superficial obsession overruled integrity.

Don't let the same happen to you.

Peace.  x