Comments on: Excellence, Beauty and Reality: What Gives?

By: Ben

Ben — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 21:28:07 +0000

It’s good to pan out and look at the big picture and what’s really worth fighting for and what’s not. I agree, children are especially susceptible to falling into the trap of over-glamorizing the perceived best of the best. It’s sad that they’re being so inundated in so many ways.

By: Marci | Liberating Choices

Marci | Liberating Choices — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 03:00:35 +0000

“we hold the steering wheel and the internal GPS to our own direction” – love this metaphor for not letting entertainment be our guide. Entertainment can be a wild ride, but it’s always good to stay in the driver’s street.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 02:24:16 +0000

Timely post, Belinda. I was just talking with a friend about our culture’s push for children to achieve, for talents to be used for money and fame … but then how many rich and famous people are miserable. It’s a sword that can cut to the quick before the wielder knows what happened. I hope my children learn to strive for happiness instead, to do what makes them happy rather than what makes them rich. Perhaps those will be the same, perhaps they won’t. Hopefully they will get my message and not Hollywood’s.

By: Tess The Bold Life

Tess The Bold Life — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 00:08:52 +0000

Hi Belinda,
This is well written and powerful. I love what Rob White says about praising the artificial self. Wow. Lots of insight here as always.

By: Sara Healy

Sara Healy — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 21:38:27 +0000

Belinda,

As usual, an excellent written reminder to all of us; the glitz and glamor all pass in time. I do agree that we need to teach our children that the people they see on the screens and follow in the magazines are human and make mistakes, just like the rest of us.

BTW I had to look up “digitus impudicus.” I didn’t get it at first…sometimes I can be a bit slow:~) However, it was worth it because it really made me laugh when I realized what it was. I will remember the next time I want to tell someone about my middle finger:~)

By: Talon

Talon — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 16:57:25 +0000

I always think it’s sad how revered people are for being famous…like that is, in and of itself, a goal.

This was a wonderful and thoughtful post, Belinda.

By: Mama Zen

Mama Zen — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 16:17:29 +0000

Excellent, excellent post. I think that the get rich and famous at any cost culture is having a really negative impact on our kids.

By: rob white

rob white — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 14:29:12 +0000

Very thought provoking, Belinda. The reason we love the best and the brightest is because we glimpse our own Unlimited Nature in action. People who are living and expressing themselves fully have a remarkable capacity to inspire us all. I harbor a disdain for the accolades we heap on Hollywood – praising vanity only serves to strengthen the Artificial-Self. There is a great distinction to be made between praising that which inspires our ‘unlimitedness’ and that which keeps us limited.

By: Jack@TheJackB

Jack@TheJackB — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 01:31:31 +0000

Nuance is sometimes hard for young children to understand, but it is an important distinction to make.

By: Charlotte

Charlotte — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 22:26:39 +0000

Yes, I totally agree with the points you make and abhor our culture’s insistence on praising the superficial only. And, I do think we need to remember that those actors have worked hard at a job they love. I’m the first to sneer at the Lindsay Lohans and Charlie Sheens of the world, but Colin Firth? Not so much. I think he acts for the love of acting, for the same reason that I write. And how about the older gentleman who wrote the screenplay for The King’s Speech? A late bloomer indeed. And he’s raised awareness about the issue of stuttering. That is the power of creativity, right there.