The best forms of entertainment are guiding lights towards a better day and better tomorrow. Why we need them now more than yesterday.
I was riding around with the top down on a convertible today, enjoying the sights and smells of spring. I drove along bends in the road where a small stream of water was flowing through a greening field. On the edge of many branches, small buds are beginning to form, the cusp of renewal and a future summer ahead. This morning was a sharp contrast to what life is like for many in Europe today.
It is easy to be bogged down by the ugliness of human tragedy. There’s plenty of sorrow already in the world, so to add to it malevolence is a reminder of the potential we all have either way. Yes, the war in Ukraine, as well as the possibility for further conflict affecting more people, is a daily image of what we can do to bring hurt to our neighbors. The attack on innocent people is an attack on human dignity, on intrinsic value, and on beauty itself. It is an attack on goodness, because the innocent people fleeing have done no wrong to deserve such a vicious stroke against their way of life.
As we see the imagery of cities leveled, unfair death, and poverty brought about by uncare, it is important that we not be consumed by the darkness of war. We cannot fall victim to it, or any other malevolent challenge, because there is more to life than just the downfallen aspects. It is not enough, after all, to see that which we should avoid at all costs. It is not enough to recognize that the distaste inside those who would harm others is the same distaste that can rise within our own selves to varying degrees if we do not overcome it with hard-earned virtue. We must look at what it is we wish to run towards as well. If the ugliness of unnecessary war is at least near the bottom of what we should value, we also need to look toward the goals we wish to hold: the icons, the northern star, the things which inspire awe and emulation.
For me today, that was driving through fields of reborn growth. For me, it is in acts of kindness and reciprocal hope. The world can be ugly; people can be downtrodden. But beauty exists even in dark times.
Today I do not live in a country where tanks are rolling in nor is poverty crushing my way of life. I am fortunate in that I can do things that better myself and my family. I am fortunate that I can pause and consider the lovely things of life for which I hope we should all aim. Even in times of sorrow, inspiration shines through.
When we discuss entertainment, travel, and leisure, I hope we are all reminded that it’s not just a flippant bit of temporary joy or amusement that we critique online. Instead, these things matter because they exist as an escape for all of us from the mundane or the less-than-ideal in our own lives. When we are negative about entertainment, travel, or leisure products and services, it is because we recognize they are below the ideal. What we’re looking for is beauty… beauty that is necessary because it drives us forward through the muck and the yuck of harder things in life.
For each of us, what relieves our stresses and rejuvenates is different. However, I hope that each person out there, even in the face of an uncertain world, is able to find something beautiful today and this week to concentrate on. We all need a compass point to move forward. There are many people hurting right now for a variety of reasons, but we must always remember the ideals that are truer than true. Let us continue to make special time for those things.
If you’d like, share with me the things you find beautiful and worthy of admiration in the comments below.
This essay is one I find beautiful and worthy of admiration. Thank you! Although it did not need to be said by you, your mention of why some of your articles may be negative is greatly appreciated. I am guilty of wondering if they were clickbait, initially, and I apologize about my incorrect presumption of your intent.
My thoughts, with this essay, immediately went to the footage recently seen of the pianist outside a train station, in an Ukrainian city, playing “What a Wonderful World” Captivating.
In general, I find kindness, empathy, and nature (partial to National Parks, etc) most beautiful and worthy of admiration.
That means a lot. Yes, the point of this website is to aim for the highest ideal in the entertainment and leisure that guides our culture. These things matter. Your example is poignant and reminiscent of the musicians who played on the Titanic until the very end. Facing demise, they found beauty mattered. For that to be so true that people would rise to do so in the face of death, it’s true enough to take seriously.
Thank you for being a reader and commenter.
It is so important that we all “detach” from the internet & media/social media.It’s too much for individuals to handle. Personally, I don’t think humans are genetically hardwired to extend/involve our minds & emotions in every story, tragedy, 200 internet ‘friends’ concerns, etc. It indeed “frazzles”us, spreading our nervous system too far & thin. I think first & foremost we’re designed to involve ourselves in the world around us (family, friends, profession). When we do this…we automatically reap the rewards, like in your example WDWPro. The beauty of nature made a very REAL impact. I visited with family today, and played with and loved my 1 year old niece. I feel so much more fulfilled via that family interaction than anything my phone or television or movie screen can provide!
You can learn a lot from a one year old. They’re miraculous and worth our efforts.