Chromatica

By: paulternate

Dec 04 2008

Tags: apocolypse, change, dark, end, every day is exactly the same, fear, grunge, happy, hope, mask, nine inch nails, paintball, rant, scratched

Category: Abstract/Experimental, color, Photography, photoshop

1 Comment

So….I was bored in class on Tuesday. We weren’t doing anything productive so I figured I would write something. I have been thinking about journalism a little so I figured I would just write whatever came to my mind first. I knew I wanted to post what I wrote but it ended up being way too long for a blog post. I also knew that I wanted a picture and a song to, sort of, go along with it. Jake was talking to me today about he always wanted to buy a gasmask for photography purposes and it got me thinking about my old paintball mask I had lying around. I thought to myself, that would incorporate nicely with my rant about fear, which is what I wrote about by the way. Anyway, this is the condensed version of the complete text. It ends somewhat abruptly because, simply, I’m not finished with it. This is also a very rough draft. I thought about it, wrote it down, then typed it. Keep an open mind.

I suggest you take the song, text, and image as a whole.

“Every Day Is Exactly The Same” – Nine Inch Nails

As a society we are held back by our fears. People, especially in this day and age, are terrified by failure. I’m not talking about taking unnecessary risks but if civilization weeds out the “trial and error” system that we have always relied on then even the most simple of things cannot advance.

I’m not just talking about technology, or advances in medicine but progress as a whole. I’m talking about life. This fear of failure conquers us, as a human race, and, in turn, doesn’t allow us to approach situations the way we would, say, if there were no risk. If there is no risk involved and the reward is even remotely substantial then, of course, we will pursue. It would be foolish not to. It’s when risk is added to the equation that we become overwhelmed by the fact that we may fail.

This fact is directly connected with the idea of change. Humans are not only crippled by fear but are encumbered by the fear of change. We like what we know, and we fear what we do not understand. Change brings with it the unknown.

What is the point? Why are we afraid? Is there anything we can do to stop it? We, alone, have the choice. That is the choice to live freely, to live without fear. That is the choice that we must make in order to appreciate this thing called life that so many people take for granted.

Let me give you an example. Say you have a gift. You have been given a talent. A talent that is rare enough to be considered significant. Musical or artistic ability, something to that effect. It doesn’t matter, you choose. You have an opportunity to pursue that talent, whatever it may be, but there’s a catch. There’s always a catch. There is a chance for you to become something but, it’s only that, a chance. With that chance also comes the possibility of failure. What do you choose? Take the risk and possibly fulfill your dreams. Or, pass the opportunity along and live with the fact that you will never know what could have been. That brings us to hope. How much do you have? And what is it worth to you?

Haven’t you noticed yet? It’s the people that have hope who are the happiest. They are the ones who question fear. The hope of something greatly outweighs the risk they have to take and overwhelms their fear of disappointment. There are those that question the “what ifs” and there are those that truly believe the “what ifs” can become actuality. The ones who believe have the best chance at freedom.