A local suburb has organized a free ice sculpture and light show in the forest next to the houses to remember a writer and poet who passed away recently. The sculptures depicted characters from her work and while basic, it was great for kids and since it was outdoors, there were no issues with gathering people and many took the opportunity to get out of the house and do something different. Smallsteps enjoyed it, but there was a little slide made out of ice that she liked a lot more - though she was just happy to be somewhere other than home.
One of the things I like in Finland, is that it doesn't take much for something to be considerend an "event", meaning that many are easily drawn to these kinds of events and there isn't the expectation that it is going to be the most amazing thing in the world. I feel that in some cultures, there is so much "social engineering" that drives for consumer buying behavior, that people expect "fantastic" because they paid for it. It is like the people who complain that their Big Mac doesn't look like the picture on the sign. But, this taints the "free" events too, as people become jaded, spoiled.
I came across a term the other day that is supposedly being talked about on TikTok and Instagram called "The Ick", where what seems young women are suddenly turned off by their partner and no longer find them attractive, based on some tiny detail, like the guy's taste in music or the funniest I read, the way the guy tried to pick up a rolling tennis ball.
Grounds for dismissal?
I think that what this indicates is the growing entitlement issues the younger generation feels, believing that everything has to meet their expectations. Anything that makes them feel something negative, has to be excised from their lives immediately.
Perhaps this is okay for the young, but it does start to build relationship patterns and if a person is not willing to put up with the "ugly" of how their partner picks up a tennis ball, what is the chance of them compromising in the long-term? And then there is the other side of it, where people expect to be accepted for who they are, no matter what they do, but how many of these girls could put up with that level of rejection - assuming that no one is perfect.
And women say men are superficial.
Pigs.
Perhaps the reason that these people are having such "strong" reactions to what are highly irrelevant events, is that they have an inability to face negative emotions and if there is the space for an out, they will take it. Rather than correct the issue or learn how to accept it as is, they just walk away - learning nothing. But, this kind of habitual nature tends to come home to roost.
A decade or two from now, on top of all of the other factors that are becoming hurdles to strong relationships, this kind of behavior is likely to leave a lot of these types of people lonely. People say that "culture is changing" and it is, but what they never seem to acknowledge is that human nature evolves very slowly and we are primed for socialization and intimacy, which is more than a roll in the hay on a Saturday night with a stranger - especially later in life.
While everyone wants to be happy with a life of highlights, the reality is that this is not the experience - there are lows and disappointments too. Avoid them long enough and slowly, the electricity of consumer behavior runs out and in that darkness, they will stand alone.
Do the images align?
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]