Ah the simple life of days gone by! The days when the Fuller Brush man came to the door, I remember him well, his name was Buddy and he played jazz guitar and became a friend of the family.
As a small child, the egg man came to the door & sold fresh eggs, the bread man came and sold fresh bread, and yes, the infamous milk man, accused jokingly of fathering many children came to the door also. None of these salesmen caused questions of paternity, but I do remember fondly these good ol' days.
These days, ones head can spin at all the self help stuff people are selling, enticing the public with how their wares can change our lives in five days or five minutes. Their sales line includes how much they care about our personal growth, but they over-charge for any of their tidbits of wisdom they might offer for the good of humanity.
Of course we all have to pay for shelter, other basics, and these days the all-coveted luxuries that the media has instilled within all the blinding desire to have. The media has attempted to program into everyone that life is not worth living if you are not a celebrity of some sort, a high-paid public speaking expert on any subject, especially those subjects that ensure wealth and fame and huge sales of your books and other products that spawn from such expertise.
If we are not some success as defined by society by the time we are in our 50's, then we are considered failures. The societal, media-definition of success is anything but. I personally have never fit into societal boxes that bring about acceptance or respect or a pension or financial portfolio that will support me should I live to old age. I'm here to cultivate within me that which I can take with me when I depart this earthly plane. But that cultivation does not bring acclaim or financial wealth, unless of course I start selling the wisdom of my experience. Do I start blogging about it? Jumping on the bandwagon of selling my life in print or video, hoping to become, of all things, "VIRAL" on You Tube?
The very essence of the artiste does not necessarily include the desire 'to market' my art. I would have to hire someone to make me into a product that sells well. Isn't that sort of like prostitution or is this an age-old belief system that is keeping me from enjoying the financial fruits that is my birthright? There's plenty of people out there that want to sell me the solution to this perceived 'problem'. My head spins as I open the inbox of my email and see the listing for all the products that will enhance my spiritual progress, from "quantum jumping" to utilizing the "Laws of the Universe".....pretty funny that the very Laws of the Universe have become a product to sell the masses. Sort of like charging admission to take a walk on the beach or the forest. They've packaged everything and it's usually for the low price of $97. This seems to be a popular price tag, except of course unless you want to buy a workbook from Brendan Burchard for $10,000. No kidding, he brags that his workbook cost less than $20 to make, but the information in it is worth $10,000!!!!
I'm glad Buddha's descendants don't charge for the wisdom he discovered in his time. Gandhi's wisdom is still free, thankfully. I can chant the holy mantras and not pay a user fee, but then of course I get the comments from people 'out there' that have viewed it judging me to be something other than what they view as devotional. I have utilized the internet to express my artistic nature and it's just plain fun to do. I am amused by some of the commentary that judges me for my self-expression. The judgments of others is not a concern, for in the words of W.C. - "what other people think of me is none of my business" - using that quote is still, thankfully at a no-charge.
I imagine that someday there will be a breath-ometer, charging people for the very air that they breath. I just wonder if one will have to pay extra for clean air, or for say, L.A. quality air is a two-for-one-inhale breathing charge.
MORAL TO THE STORY: maintain a sense of humor, it's not only free, but one can't afford NOT to.
