the power of stoicism

It has been several weeks since David Bowie died; and although I wasn’t a big follower of his music, I would like to point out how eloquent, and well-spoken David Bowie was as a man and musician, especially considering and comparing him to the “idols” of today …

Justin Bieber can’t get through a sentence without saying “like” and “you know…” not to mention all the superfluous swear words that are belched so often by too many other “stars” of today.

But my focus of this short entry and what I find inspirational is how even in our selfie obsessed, feel sorry for ourselves world we live in today,  David Bowie didn’t go out focusing on his pain.

He didn’t sell his final story to the world;  and there was no reality TV show counting down his final days.

Only a few people in his inner circle even knew he had cancer; only a few people even knew he was dying.

Instead of feeling sorry for himself and focusing on his pain, Bowie worked with enthusiasm on a final album, and seems to have lived his last months and final days to the fullest because of this focus.

For a second just consider his stoicism…

There is zero, and I underscore “zero” chance that any top “idol” or “star” today would be as stoic as Bowie proved to be.

Each time one of the idols has a bad meal or breaks an arm or a leg it commands headline news.  It is absurd how much attention celebrities today crave, but even more ridiculous is how much attention they receive.

The world has become ridiculously, soft and selfie obsessed.

Too many people just feel sorry for themselves….and so many “share” all their problems with their “friends” ….constantly.

And I am sure its because societies across the world have been and are being dumbed down and constantly, encouraged by all the social media platforms to “share” our problems and pains, so our “friends” are aware and we get “likes” and “followers” and we can feel warm and fuzzy because of all the “support.”

All of this “me-me-me… please feel sorry for me..”is only going to get worse.

Next time you are about to “share” a problem or something completely banal and useless with a  “friend” … think about what value your sharing whatever it is that you are sharing will add to your friends day.