I was at the gym the other day and I was listening to the Newest album by T.I. “Paper Trail” and usually when I listen to music while I am working out it is to pump me up and help me put less concentration on the pain of the workout. In the midst of working out a few days ago, I heard a lyric in a song that made me think. Though I cannot endorse this album due to the majority of the content I guess even in the midst of the negative content there are life lessons that are revealed, maybe because deep down, people, no matter who they are, are the same and have similar experiences.
The particular track I was listening to is called “My life, Your entertainment” and throughout the song T.I. is confronting cynics that are talking about him. The main chorus is “My life, your entertainment
You watch it while I live it (live it), I walk they follow, I talk they holla, Just here for your amusement
My life, your entertainment, You watch it while I live it (live it), You waitin’ for me to lose it, I guess I’m just here for your amusement.” After hearing this track I couldn’t help thinking about how some people when given the option to work for something to see their dreams come to pass or just live vicariously through someone else’s dreams, choose the latter.
I love to watch movies to be entertained and also because of the creative expression that is film but I have to constantly ask myself, do I want to live a life that is only one of observation of others or do I want to live a life that I am becoming a visionary and seeing my dreams come to pass? As a culture, I feel like many have succumbed to being satisfied with watching others live life that their ability to dream for themselves has dwindled. Instead of going and creating experiences I have experienced that many people would prefer to watch the same or similar experiences happen to other people on a show or in a movie. I am all about collaboration of people and networking with others and supporting them with what they are doing but beyond this, have we lost the ability to think for ourselves and realize that we can shape the world that we live in?
What is your experience? Why do you think people seem to prefer to watch other’s live dynamic lives instead of creating and enjoying their own dynamic lives? What can we do to encourage people to dream?
there is much irony in this post that I am very much so appreciative of. i love recognizing an ironic situation/statement and realizing that it is applicable to my entire life through philosophy or theology. The irony I found was in this statement: “maybe because deep down, people, no matter who they are, are the same and have similar experiences.” while i, of course, believe this to be true… this statement also triggered a thought in my head that perhaps the reason you were able to learn from the content of a t.i. song that is relatively not about your life at all, is because deep down, we can all relate to each other’s thoughts, despite our experiences. in this case, you were able to relate to t.i.’s thoughts about the dreamer who lives out the dream, and the dreamer who follows the dream. i have to believe that t.i. didnt write this song with the same thoughts in mind as you have but still, you understand the “base” of what he is saying. hence, the irony.
as ending thoughts to this post, my experience to this idea of dream living and dream following is one that surrounds us everywhere we go everyday. but why? of course this is a question that poses much complexity. but maybe its more simple… maybe its just easier for people to follow than to lead/live their own dreams. the reality is that when you sell out to accomplish your dreams, you either 1) achieve your dream or 2) are left with nothing. the reality is that our dreams come with a cost (money, time, commitment, obstacles… etc..) and a lot of risk. so in this way, its easier to follow someone elses dream. we are less at risk to failing if it isnt on our own ground. this could also be thought of in terms of leadership. there are millions of followers in the world, but maybe hundreds of leaders. i think that the few that rise to live their own dynamic lives have risen for a reason. and leaders require followers. thats why they are “leaders.” so likewise, followers are followers for a reason. after all, what would all the leaders do in the world if they had no followers?
Simply put…we are a voyeristic generation. And with the blow up of social media we are now given more opportunity than before to “watch”; to be “peeping Toms”.
We love to suspend reality; which, of course, isn’t entirely wrong. But the moment we begin to live our lives through a cinematic character or through the characters we hide behind via Facebook and Twitter, then we start heading in a direction that’s short of the great lives God intended for us.
Part of the reason why we fall into the “hide behind a character” syndrome is, perhaps, because we fear failure. Yet, it’s through failure, many times, we’re able to succeed.
Great thoughts. Keep on learning…even if it’s from the least likely of places!
Great insight on why we hide behind our social media characters. How do you feel we could be more authentic in our social media worlds? Also, In your reply you wrote “we love to suspend reality; which of course, isn’t entirely wrong.” what did you mean by we suspend reality?
Thank you Derrick for your insight.
Suspend Reality – When we watch a movie, we suspend reality for the 2+ hours it takes to sit through the story. The beauty behind story telling is it allows us to jump into the creative world of the writer, which in turn, suspends our reality for a moment. Suspending reality, in this sense, isn’t entirely wrong because we get a moment of inspiration. We’re encouraged to think beyond the norm. And, it’s through inspiration, that we get our go ahead to move forward. The tragedy, many times, is we like to stay in that suspended world for too long. Many times, we stay suspended too long that we don’t come back to reality.