Real Life And Reel Life

by allinspiration.com

Many of us spend a lot of our time reading the newspapers and magazines, catching movies at the cinema, and watching television. And these forms of media have a profound impact on our hopes and expectations, and on how we view people, the world, and life in general.

On the one hand, we read and watch about the glamourous, stylish lives of celebrities. Their rich lifestyles, their endless supply of money, their high profile parties, expensive homes, big cars, beautiful spouses and rosy sweet lives. And we become dissatisfied with our own lives, wondering how come we earn so little, drive such small cars, live in such average houses, and live such boring, mundane lives.

We watch movies and television dramas. The main characters are normally handsome hunks or gorgeous babes. Some of them would lead very charmed and fortunate lives, where everything seems to go so well, or at least everything eventually becomes perfect. Their love relationships are always so passionate, so sweet, so sweeping. And we wonder why our own lives are so distinctly average.

We watch and read about sportsmen of exceptional ability who make lots of money doing the thing that they love, about very intelligent people, about successful businessmen who bring home millions of dollars, about talented singers. And we wish that we had more ability, that we were more gifted, that we made more money.

On the other hand, we read and watch the news and come across all the ghastly things happening all over the world today. The wars and conflicts. The murders, robberies, rapes and violence. The taking of innocent lives. The rising divorce rates, escalating violence, terrorism, increasing likelihood of getting diseases. Even little children are joining in. And it is easy for most of us to get very disillusioned with life and the world, to give up hope on people, on life, and on the world. Some of us would worry about the future, about what our world today is becoming, about what kind of world would be left for our children.

Amidst all these negative feelings which the different forms of media give us, it is extremely important to impress upon ourselves, and to constantly remind ourselves, that real life is really somewhere in the middle.

It isn't always as good as what the movies and television shows tell us. Most of us lead very average, "mundane" lives. Don't fall for the hype, the glamour, and start wondering why your own life is so pathetic.

At the same time, it isn't anywhere as bad as what the news would tell us. The news normally report all the bad things, and rarely talk about the millions of good deeds happening every day. So don't start becoming disillusioned too easily. And, more importantly, don't lose hope in humanity.

Life is tough. No one ever said life would be easy. But don't go add extra on burden yourself by having unrealistic, false expectations and exaggerated worries and disillusionment. Real life isn't quite like that.