Images

We are constantly pursued by popular culture and its influences of want, desire, and perfection. I often think of the magazine racks that accost your intelligence as you wait patiently (or maybe not so much) while in line at the grocery store. Tabloids, fashion magazines, Time, and People all wait to be picked up in read. "Why not?", I say. I am waiting in line, I might as well entertain myself. But within those pages are images of things we "need" and people we "need" to look and live like. Many of us believe it of course because it is not just here that we face it. It is on TV, Newspaper, and the Internet. When you are constantly told something over a long period of time you start to believe it right?

This "flood of images" stems partially from marketing. It appeals to our want of a more satisfying lifestyle or to put it more bluntly our desire for happiness. A recent AP article states that "Children ages 8-12 see the most food ads on TV — an average of 21 a day, or 7,600 a year." Kids love food. To them it is happiness. These ads have been blamed for the rapid increase of childhood obesity. Children see the latest surgery creation on TV and find a way to get it.

It works for adults as well. But there are some of us that want to move past this world of bombardment of negative, and self destructive imagery. This is challenging when we live in a culture that is so image obsessed. Several individuals mentioned the positive images that they see day to day. While everyone has a perception of what is around them it could be said that there are far more positive images then negative ones. We just choose to see the negative. If you were to remove yourself from watching TV, reading news sources, logging on to the internet and even answering your phone you would avoid a lot of these negative images. These venues provide high concentrations of "want and unhappiness".

Now realistically we can't exactly do this. But I would like to think that if we meditated on the positive images and became more aware of them than we would see that there is far more "good" in this world than "bad".

On a side note I am a huge a fan of Ted.com. It is website with very positive ideas and images. I highly recommend it.

-C