Imagine an entire generation hungry for change. Starving. Demanding. Hard working. Positive. Imagine a large group of individuals obsessed with making this world cleaner, healthier, more peaceful, more beautiful, more conscious? Imagine if every single person tomorrow morning woke up with the courage to say ‘I don’t like this about the world I live in, instead of accepting it, complaining or ignoring, I believe I can help change it’ or ‘This isn’t fair or right, why aren’t we all wanting to do something about it? Come on, together we can be the change!!’
No matter who you are, where you’re from or what physical form you were born into, if you’re reading this now you are so lucky. You may think you’re too different, or alone or unloved sometimes, but please remember how similar we all are. We all share something so powerful, so valuable, so beautiful… yet most of us ignore it, suppress it or ridicule others for it. What is it? It’s our ability to love, to care and to feel. In one phrase it’s this: every single one of us has the same underling desire to live and to live freely. Whether that’s free from physical harm, abuse, mental agony, comparison, shame, ridicule, discrimination, manipulation, deceit, access to real health information, clean air, a natural healthy environment…We all care about the world we live in because we live in it. We all care. Therefore ask yourself this, in a world supposedly more connected than ever before – why aren’t we seeing rapid positive changes? Why isn’t our youth waking up each day with a sense of undeniable empowerment to help the world or even a slight interest in global issues?
It’s simple, it’s because we are stuck living in distractions. A 2D world. An addiction to screen life. We believe and obsess over contrived ideas, images and personalities. We live in a celebrity obsessed culture. We walk out into a shopping mall, watch a movie, turn on the TV, search the most popular people on YouTube, and what do we see? We see luxurious living, genetically blessed people, we see new clothes, sexy workout wear, tight abs, toned thighs, perfectly styled hair, painted masks, spray painted bodies. We don’t see real life. This celebrity culture based largely on aesthetics has taken over our own individual lives. We talk about these people like we know them, when in reality we know next to nothing about them, their fears, their dreams, their regrets. We put them on a pedestal and enjoy throwing rocks. We like watching them struggle, we mock them, humour ourselves… yet in the same breathe we complain about how we aren’t up there with them.
I didn’t live in the real world, I lived through screens. And I created a celebrity construct of myself, believing it would bring me happiness. That couldn’t be further away from the truth.
See, I didn’t grow up with the belief and determination that I could help shape the new world. I mean yes, of course, I always wanted to help or make a change, but I just never knew how. I thought I had to be a politician, or a celebrity, or a scientist to ever make a real contribution… I grew up identifying with a system based on social status, social approval and having an aesthetically pleasing physical form. That was what social media was for me. The pretty people got heard, the funny people mattered, the rich, the glamours… everyone listened to them. So I guess I convinced myself that a number on a screen dictated my value. It limited my potential here on Earth. It consumed me and killed all creativity.
The point is, I don’t have all the answers or solutions or ideas. Truth is I don’t know much. But I do know this; I no longer want to spend hours and hours of my time scrolling, viewing and comparing myself to others. I want to do something, anything, something radical, something a little different. I want to use my imagination, my individual mind, my unique take on this world. I want to research more into stuff that truly matters. Read more, listen more, ask more. I want to carefully study what revolutionary individuals and communities have done, grow from there, explore, learn, innovate. I want to challenge my beliefs everyday. I want to be a passionate, conscious, kind, creative and lively being. I want to work hard on projects, really really hard. I want to explore different ways to spread conscious messages of change. I want to be the change. I want to meet people who share this passion, learn with them, create with them, live with them. Are you one of them? I really hope you are. Well, if you’re someone who just can’t accept society the way it is – that’s fucking awesome. Some might say we have issues ‘coping with society’… I say we are game changers. We are the people who want more from ourselves and the current system we live in. I want to learn with you, talk about controversial ideas, documentaries, inspiring books, short films, real health, real present conscious living. Let’s do this. Lets be game changers.
[Nov 2015]
Essena O'Neill Archive 