How vast was our world in the early ‘90s? How many opportunities did we have back then to become ‘someone’?
Well, my world at that time still existed on a map - gigantic and mysterious. It was the world of National Geographic, a planet full of beauty, unreachable destinations, hidden traditions, and remote cultures. A world narrated by explorers, novelists, journalists, and photographers who allowed us to learn about places and routes otherwise inaccessible.
My dream has always been to travel and learn about other cultures. When I finally turned 18, I was ready to start my adventure. I found myself with a group of friends heading to Spain. That journey felt like a leap into the void for me. I had my backpack, a few coins, and my guitar, but I felt that was the right dimension - the non-destination I was looking for: the movement across landscapes, foreign languages, being incapable of clearly communicating my thoughts, yet enhancing my perception of who I really was. I was maturing an insatiable curiosity to know about these places and their history, and I couldn’t see an end to this journey, because no one would have seen and found the things that I was going to discover.
As the world was so large and immense to explore, my music idols were akin to gods living on a different planet. I could sporadically see them on album covers, in magazines, and rarely on MTV (especially since hard-rock music wasn’t particularly ‘commercial’ at that time). So, like most of my friends, I had posters of celebrities or enchanting places hanging in my bedroom, places I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to reach.
My imagination was the source that guided me through the quest of finding my path, inspired by these inaccessible human beings. I never thought about comparing myself to them; I just wanted to learn from what they were doing and share it to other people.
I wasn’t afraid of making mistakes or being constantly judged; it was just fun, passion, and never-ending impulses running up and down my spine.
When you think about the concept of god, you probably imagine some kind of powerful entity or supernatural force that cannot be equalled. Therefore, if you believe in it, you might want to emulate and resemble, on a ground level, some of its/her/his own attributes to reflect all the good things this god might represent to you. I think that was pretty much the same approach with the great historical characters and subsequently with radio and TV performers.
So, since these ‘superheroes’ were so far away and remote, there was a chance for us to become ‘someone’ - a great or unique singer, dancer, football player, pilot, etc. - and be recognized and appreciated in our little world. It made sense to give it a try and work hard to achieve that goal, as it was for ourselves and for the few other people we really cared about, and of course, sometimes also to please our ego 😊.
Then the gods fell, and they merged into a compressed, gigantic, and crowed world where everybody could be like them, where their aura disappeared, their dimension shrank, and their magic was substituted by the banality of their often boring and common human behaviours.
However, having the gods so close to us became also scary and frustrating because now what’s the point in putting all this effort to achieve a goal? Why work so hard if there is already someone who does it better and is just there, one swipe away?
How to solve this dilemma? I’m not sure yet, but I believe that everybody has the right to tell a story and keep contributing in some way to write this evolutionary book of life.
Good or bad, fantastic or mediocre, ugly or stunning, we will be there to pick up just the message we are really ready to comprehend, and it will push us forward.
...and if you still have some time to enjoy a relaxing piece of music, I would like to share a 'mystical' one with you💫.
#ImperfectionJourney #RedefiningAspirations #ShrinkingWorld #EraOfAccessibility #CelebratingDifferences #EvolutionaryStories
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