I am curled up in my bed as I type. Nestled next to me is a comedy sized mug filled with green tea, steaming gently. The house is quiet, aside from the voices of Mumford & Sons resonating from my Macbook. I am alone at home, and it is midnight. This is my context.
Context is vital, I am finding. So often humans misunderstand each other, in their ironic hurry to understand as much as they can. We rush between conversations online and on our electronic devices. Forever searching for the freshest answer, the latest information, the newest status updates. But without context, these chunks of news are so often out of place. Lost in translation. It is then that we spin around every space of our lives, searching for inspiration to realign what has been misaligned. And without context, we so often can read the wrong message, hear the wrong lyric, find offence where there sometimes is none to be taken.
Despite my frustrations with the slow paced way of life in Morocco at times, I now endeavour to carry through the thematic concept of the North African culture in taking a few extra moments to enjoy life. To sometimes just kick back and reflect on all that is, and all that has gone before. Without fear of what may come next.
I watched 'After Earth' this evening at my little local cinema. Amongst all of the impressive special effects and scary monsters came a quote that really stayed with me after the lights came up. Towards the end of the film came the Hollywood words;
An inspirational quote. Inspirational quotes. They're everywhere! All over Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. No matter what time of day or night, somewhere on one kind of news feed or another there will be a quote to refer to, whether you need one or not!
Context is vital, I am finding. So often humans misunderstand each other, in their ironic hurry to understand as much as they can. We rush between conversations online and on our electronic devices. Forever searching for the freshest answer, the latest information, the newest status updates. But without context, these chunks of news are so often out of place. Lost in translation. It is then that we spin around every space of our lives, searching for inspiration to realign what has been misaligned. And without context, we so often can read the wrong message, hear the wrong lyric, find offence where there sometimes is none to be taken.
Despite my frustrations with the slow paced way of life in Morocco at times, I now endeavour to carry through the thematic concept of the North African culture in taking a few extra moments to enjoy life. To sometimes just kick back and reflect on all that is, and all that has gone before. Without fear of what may come next. I watched 'After Earth' this evening at my little local cinema. Amongst all of the impressive special effects and scary monsters came a quote that really stayed with me after the lights came up. Towards the end of the film came the Hollywood words;
"Fear is only a product of our imagination. It is to be afraid of what may not ever happen. It is pointless to fear what is not present or imminently of danger to us. Therefore, fear is pointless."
An inspirational quote. Inspirational quotes. They're everywhere! All over Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. No matter what time of day or night, somewhere on one kind of news feed or another there will be a quote to refer to, whether you need one or not!
I feel it is very easy to post up an image of a quote. In technical terms, it takes a matter of moments to click and upload, or even just share from another user. But how inspirational are they in reality? How often do they truly inspire a person to get up and out, fuelling true change or development in their lives?
Personally, when I come up against harder times in life, I have a little bit of a habit of internalising before I will ask for help from friends and family. Therefore, quotes such as this can be an effective way of sparking positive thought and reminding me of what I need to focus on.
But are they sometimes just a comfort blanket? A minute method of escapism, into 'bigger, better' life as we hope it to be?I often struggle with the concept of, 'real life'. As I described in my Paris blog entry, I felt more like myself than ever when I was inside the Pompidou gallery in central Paris. I spent many hours wandering it's corridors, feeling very reassured of my path and where I belonged. As if somehow the presence of all the art around me that I connected to so much somehow confirmed something. Something or other.
Who knows? Maybe I am entirely incorrect in my navigations! But we must continue forwards. With only a little fear, neatly hidden. Just enough to keep us going. Just like the rest of the world.
Whether we choose to show it by status update, hurried 'whatsapps', quote posting, or to not show it very often at all. We are as brave as we dare to be. And we are all a little fearful, just on varying scales and in varying contexts.
We are never truly alone. This is the important part, to me.
Dare to try.
Helen Victoria.
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