#superficiality

[ashenbot]

Why does there have to be such an eager-to-romanticize aspect of anons?

Like, I get that they have the advantage of being faceless and without a track record, but do you really want to spitball every thought? Is your brain that empty?

[domlarkin]

The New Icon

I sought the altar of a living face, But found a mask of lithographic light; The ancient depth, the resonance of grace, Had fled the hollow of the public sight. A thousand shrines to curated desire Now flicker where the silent tapers burned; The soul’s communion, once a holy fire, To cold and plastic currency is turned. And on the screen, a gilded cipher stands, The hollow idol of a branded name, That claims the heart with electronic hands; Behind the glow, the spirit starves for bread, As ancient symbols, stripped of all but shame, Become the empty signs the age has fed.

[professorgtnt]

Dr. Martyn Llody~Jones（鍾馬田）

"The most obvious feature of the life of Christian Church today is superficiality (13).

One main cause is our attitude to the Bible, our failure to take it seriously, our failure to take it as it is and to allow it to speak to us."

"What the church needs to do is not to organize evangelistic campaigns to attract outside people, but to begin herself to live the Christian life. If she did that, men and women would be crowding into our buildings."

[domlarkin]

The Same Old Scene

Some people value themselves based on their

Looks, their hair styles and the clothes that they wear.

Indeed, their smart phones are so de rigueur

To them they're transfixed. They don't stop and stare

To see the life that's flowing all around

Them. They're distracted by asinine sounds

And crass images from cradle to grave.

Alas, this is how they're taught to behave.

Authenticity is rare, and our dreams,

Are but fleeting. The search for novelty

Leads to the threshold of despair. The wise

Ones among us, who see through airbrushed lies,

Know this to be true. Yet, the many keep

On playing the same hackneyed games. It seems

That they are 'content' that things do not change,

As it's much harder to embrace new ways

Of being, in a world that rewards mass

Conformity, and worships utter trash.

[caparbia]

A tutti piace la bellezza... A pochi l'intelligenza

[pastelpotterypawn]

I turned around to look at the following I had amassed. All I saw were emaciated bodies.

I spent 15 years of my life dedicated to filmmaking and industry. I believed that--as long as I could just make this work--everything would work out.

Student loan debt? Go to work.

No house? Go to work.

No car? Go to work.

No girlfriend? Go to work.

Girlfriend just broke up? Go to work.

And until the pandemic hit, it was fine. But then I was alone in a room with nothing to do. No job prospects. No projects on the horizon. No real friends, because everyone I know just wants the bigger, better deal.

That started in childhood, too. Like, I romanticize my small-town upbringing, but even back then? People were still looking for a bigger better deal.

"want to hang out?"

"I'll pencil you in, but I'm still waiting to see if something else comes along."

And the thing that's ironic is that I accepted that as normal, didn't question it, didn't get offended by it, and when I went to college I behaved that way.

I have been a superficial fuck. I have to come clean about that. I have been what I so vocally hate for as long as I can remember. I don't really know how to foster deep and meaningful relationships because... I've never had one, I've never been part of one, and I've never been around people who are capable of more.

Except one of my ex girlfriends in college.

She wouldn't even accept the label of being my girlfriend while we were seeing each other. And that drove me nuts. But in the last decade+ since we hooked up for three months, I still hold that relationship as a frame of reference to the "SOMETHING MORE" that exists, because... She's experienced it.

And that gets me to be like, "why and how do I decide it's ok for me to fuck someone I don't even know?" Hormones. Instincts. Like, that's nature. Natural world = you probably won't ever have enough time to really get to know this person, and the biological clock is a' ticking so you better fuck and have kids already!

This is what we don't see in movies. Never have, and probably never will: what relationships really are. Of course people don't have the romantic fulfillment they dream of! It never existed to begin with. I believe that the greatest luxury anyone can ever foster is quality, honest relationships. Because it takes time, patience, and not lying to yourselves about what things are.

And most people? Most people lie about who they are to kinda/sorta float your boat so they can get what they want--not provide you with what you want.

There's gotta be more. There's gotta be more to life. That's all I'm getting at. God, if you exist, show me the path to substantial, meaningful, genuine emotional connection with you and with one of your daughters that I may take as a wife and life partner.

[mlbullsportfolio]

“Authenticity scares people because we live in a shallow, superficial world and it automatically and many times inadvertently brings out the insecurities and judgments others already have about themselves. I’m a truth teller and believe in being real about different things, but I don’t waste my time and energy condemning other people while interacting with them. Most people like that aren't living up to standards themselves. No, it doesn’t mean I’ll trust or befriend them; but unless absolutely necessary to speak, I’ll just be quiet, let them be, and live my life in peace.” — M. L. Bull

[domlarkin]

Luminous: The Symphony Of Us

Disney's fine music is combined with synchronised

Pyrotechics. It's a spectacle that's contrived

To dazzle and to delight the ears and the eyes.

O Luminous is a miraculous surprise!

Choreographed water fountains, lasers and fire

Torches satisfy customers' deepest desires.

Is there anything in this world as good as this?

Just pay the fee, sit back and experience bliss.