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STAR WARS

MillenniumFalcon-300x207I believe that can speak for all Gen “X”ers when I say that Star Wars defined our generation. Well, that and MTV. My oldest and one of my fondest memories was when I was three and my mom and dad took me to see “The Empire Strikes Back” at the Duchess Mall (This mall hasn’t even existed for roughly three decades). It was the first movie I ever saw in a theater. They told me it would be grand, spectacular, larger than life. They were right! It was revolutionary. And me, the little boy that I was just ate it right up. So the Star Wars franchise will always be very close to my heart. Even now I am giddy with anticipation for seeing episode 7. I will be seeing it on Monday the 21st. There are a lot of you out there just like me. Most of the millennial generation and even the baby boomers don’t really understand the hype, and it’s possible they never will. So this post is a shout out to all the SW lovers out there, particularly the “X”ers.

Oh, also, carry on the hype. Get your children revved up about SW. Take them to the movies, buy the popcorn, tell them about the empire, the rebellion, the story on Anakin. Maybe we can make it a big part of their lives too.

May the Force be with you.

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Your life is happening right NOW, so live it.

Open-ArmsThis morning I attended a little concert my daughters school was having where are the little three and four-year olds (my munchkin included) were singing Christmas songs to us. I was not a big production, but it was beautiful, and it meant a lot to them.

Before the performance I took a look around the room. Not at the stage area, but the audience. I saw that it was surprisingly scarce of parents, fathers in particular. Now I am sure that many of these fathers have good reason not to show, but not all of them. I know this because I have been there before. I heard it from my father, my mother, and from many other parents before. I hear it all the time actually from parents nowadays:

 

  • “I’m not really into those things, my daughter understands.”
  • “I couldn’t make it to the performance because I was working a double shift.”
  • “I’m not gonna take off from work just because they have a school function, that’s ridiculous.”

 

Let me start by saying that anyone using anything like excuse number one is clearly not meant to be a parent. This level of selfishness should have been considered before procreating. As a result they will never develop a close bond with their child. Instead they will grow old and wonder why they don’t have that bond.

Excuses numbers two and three hold value as a legitimate reason…….but only if it is necessary for survival. But I do find that the parents that tend to give these reasons are very “well to do”. Reasons like this lose their luster when their coming from a father in an Armani suit speaking to you through the window of their BMW. All this really means is “I am far more interested in buying, keeping, and maintaining these nifty toys than being involved in my child’s life.”

We don’t live to work, people! We certainly don’t live to collect nifty things either. It is time we get our priorities straight. Our lives, and our children’s lives are happening right now. Instead of working your butt off to have and maintain lavish things, spend that time instead with your children. And for those of you who don’t have children, spend time with yourself. Think deeply about what you really want in life.

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The Wisdom of Tyler Durden

We may recall the 1999 film “Fight Club”. This film, in my opinion, and to my knowledge, is the only film representation of the values of a Minimalist lifestyle (that is not a documentary of course). The main character (Tyler Durden) had many wise quotes from the film. These are:

 

 

“It’s only after you’ve lost everything that you’re free to do anything.”

“Reject the basic assumptions of civilization, especially the importance of material possessions.”

“The liberator who destroys my property is fighting to save my spirit. The teacher who clears all possessions from my path will set me free.”

“Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need. We’re the middle children of history. No purpose or place. We have no Great War, No Great Depression. Our great war is a spiritual war. Our great depression is our lives. We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires and movie gods and rock stars, but we won’t. We’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off.”

“That world had failed them, because it told them material things were all they’d ever need. It had laid out a life for them instead of letting them choose one for themselves.”

“You are not your job. You’re not how much money you have in the bank. You’re not the car you drive. You’re not the contents of your wallet. You’re not your fucking khakis.”

“The things you own end up owning you.”

“We’re consumers. We are the byproducts of a lifestyle obsession. Murder, crime, poverty, these things don’t concern me. What concerns me are celebrity magazines, television with 500 channels, some guy’s name on my underwear. Rogaine, Viagra, Olestra.”