Positivity and Purpose

“The Old Man said ‘It’s better to travel light, without sadness, anger or fear.  Without jealousy, judgment or spite’

“What must I do?’ the shepherd asked.

‘Each morning when you awaken, promise the dawn that you’ll keep your heart as light as a feather.  Commit again each night at sunset.’”

Joann Davis – The Book of the Shepherd – The Story of One Simple Prayer and How It Changed the World

In 1968, John Lennon wrote these lyrics:

                                    Yes I'm lonely wanna die

Yes I'm lonely wanna die

If I ain't dead already

Ooh girl you know the reason why.

In the morning wanna die

In the evening wanna die

If I ain't dead already

Ooh girl you know the reason why.

John Lennon – Yer Blues

Lennon wrote this while at a meditation retreat in India.  He was learning Transcendental Meditation, a way to cultivate inner peace, from the most famous guru in the world, the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.  Lennon himself was also well-known and one of the most successful men in the world.  Not yet 30, he had broken out of his working-class roots and been the driving force behind one of the greatest musical entities in the entire world, the Beatles. 

Yet this handsome, talented, brilliant and successful man cried out that he was so lonely he wanted to die.  Granted, it was just a song.  And granted, he was trying a new musical style or perhaps making fun of white musicians playing the blues.  But why?  Why those lyrics?  What was inside him that made him feel “so suicidal?”

The unhappy famous person is almost cliché?  Here’s another conundrum.  I belong to some comic-book fan pages on Facebook.  I would estimate that about 50% of the conversations are members of the page insulting or attacking each other over opinions about tastes, or about events that happened in the comic book industry 40 years ago or more.  Many of the discussions center on creators who have died or left the industry.  There’s one fellow who spends what must be hours complaining about everything that was wrong about comic books of the past.  He’s obviously put a lot of time, energy and thought into it.  All of this is on a page about comic books that should be fun and nostalgic.  Negativity is everywhere.  There might be times when complaining and negativity are necessary, but over something that happened in a hobby decades ago is, in my mind pointless. 

Are there times when negativity and complaining might be justified?  I can’t think of many.   If I can put energy into complaining about something, then could I put energy into changing it instead?  Wouldn’t that be a better use of my time and talents?  I’m not saying I never complain.  I do more than my fair share at traffic lights, especially if I’m worried about being late.  Even that gets old though.  I just want to be different.

Negativity gets in the way of Purpose because it drains psychic energy.

I’ve thought a lot about the comic book fan pages and I had an idea.  I’d like to create my own fan page and call it Positive Comics.  The Purpose of the page would be to share good memories and positive comments about a hobby they love.  No negativity would be allowed.  There would be no complaining about past injustices that can no longer be resolved.  Instead this page would focus on fun moments and what was and  still is good.  I would focus on what we like rather than what we hate. 

This is just a thought at this point.   I’m not sure that I have the time and energy to create, administer and maintain a fan page that’s devoted only to a hobby.  Still, it might be fun to try.

It might be a unique way to Get Started and to Keep Going…positively.