kerravonsen | I Wrote A Poem

Empty Vessels

It screams at us "Go out and buy"
Until our goods will reach the sky
We never even wonder why
Or where our money went;
The song of discontent.

It swears ambition is the best
And only competition's blessed
And you must rise above the rest
Spend all in your ascent;
The song of discontent.

Relaxation's always lazy
Satisfaction must be crazy
We must never take it easy
For rest is time misspent;
The song of discontent.

It looks at a half-empty glass
Says over there is greener grass
Insists our gold is only brass
And we must now lament;
The song of discontent.

(Because I am sick of feeling defensive about my lack of ambition.)

Current Mood: thoughtful
Crossposts: http://kerravonsen.livejournal.com/998210.html

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

watervole

That's really good. I like the use of rhyme and scansion, and also the sentiment.

Ambition is not that important. Why should we not be happy with what we do well? Why seek to always have more when we have enough to content us?

From:

kerravonsen

Thank you. 8-)

Why should we not be happy with what we do well? Why seek to always have more when we have enough to content us?

Exactly.
That's one reason why I loathe advertisements: their only purpose is to make us discontented with what we have.

The thing that sparked me to actually put it into words was listening (for the nth time) to a song with the following lyrics:

I have my hopes, you have your business
Don't you see, it's somebody else's dream
That you're working for

So, what do you see
Just an ordinary man
What sets us apart, is this fire in my heart
That says, I can do anything

I just kept on getting irritated that it looks down on working for other people rather than for yourself.

From:

watervole

"That says, I can do anything" is the bit that really annoys me. There's this cultural pressure that says you can achieve anything if only you want it bad enough and work hard enough.

Well, no, you can't actually.

From:

kerravonsen

"That says, I can do anything" is the bit that really annoys me.

Yeah, that annoys me too. It is doubly poisonous because it decrees that all failures are due to lack of faith and/or lack of hard work; it doesn't even conceive that some things might simply be impossible for one person to achieve. It is insidiously plausible because the negation of it is true: that one cannot achieve something if one does not first believe that one can. To speak Logic: belief is a Necessary but not Sufficient condition for accomplishment.

Mind you, I do feel frustrated sometimes when people see my craft work and say "Oh, I could never do that!" - because they won't even try.

From:

watervole

Absolutely! I believe I could do most craft activities if I'm willing to put in the time and effort. I've mastered several in my time.

On the other hand, I would never try chainmaille work because I have RSI and am realistic enough to know that the repetitive squeezing needed to make the rings would be an issue.

$kerravonsen: (fractal)$

From:

kerravonsen

On the other hand, I would never try chainmaille work because I have RSI and am realistic enough to know that the repetitive squeezing needed to make the rings would be an issue.

Very wise. When I first started, my hands got very sore. Getting better pliers helped a lot, but I still need to be careful.

From:

kittylefish.livejournal.com

i love it! and i have never had much 'ambition' either, except to develop myself as a human being. i remember saying a couple of decades ago that i was not a 'careerist.' this was back when i lived in nyc, so it was even more radical of a stance, lol. and then clarified that all i wanted was to be a 'right-on, self-actualizing woman,' lol.

you are so talented and accomplished, you should never feel like you have to defend your life choices to anybody. <3

From:

kerravonsen

all i wanted was to be a 'right-on, self-actualizing woman,'

Right on! 8-)

you are so talented and accomplished, you should never feel like you have to defend your life choices to anybody. <3

♥
Problem is, it's usually an inner voice that I am trying to defend against, not anything external!

From:

kittylefish.livejournal.com

hmm. well then you might consider whether that voice is your higher self trying to get you to make some sort of course correction, or whether it's your internalized inner critic. because you know, we all have one of those, and if that's what it is, it's really no different than someone outside you, and you might consider telling it to shut up. ;)

From:

kerravonsen

True. 8-/

From:

dreamflower

A wonderful poem, it hits the mark square on the bull's eye. It's hard in today's society to be contented.

So much of what we think we want is manipulated onto us by people who make an art of manipulating.

I wish people would make a habit of asking themselves: "Do I really want that or does someone else want me to want it?" and the companion question: "Why do they want me to want it?" Because usually the answer to the latter question is "money" or "power" or both.

But real contentment comes from knowing what's in your heart is secure, no matter what is going on in the material world. Something you clearly do know, and good for you.

From:

kerravonsen

A wonderful poem, it hits the mark square on the bull's eye. It's hard in today's society to be contented.

Thank you.

So much of what we think we want is manipulated onto us by people who make an art of manipulating.

(nods) It struck me years ago that the sole purpose of advertising is to make us discontent, and yet people don't give it a second thought.

But real contentment comes from knowing what's in your heart is secure, no matter what is going on in the material world. Something you clearly do know, and good for you.

*hugs*

From:

sallymn.livejournal.com

I don't feel defensive or guilty at all - I have all I need, and don't need the extra work involved to get more :)

From:

kerravonsen

Hooray for you!
(smirks at icon)

From:

vjezkova.livejournal.com

Wow, what a great poem!!!!

From:

kerravonsen

Thank you!

From:

jhall1.livejournal.com

That's excellent.

From:

kerravonsen

Thank you!

From:

feliciakw.livejournal.com

This is one of those things that makes me wish LJ had a "like" button. This is so spot on.

I remember in grade school long ago (when we were learning to recognize advertising for what it is and not fall for it) that the purpose of advertising is "to create a need, and then fill it."

From:

kerravonsen

8-)

From:

livejournal.livejournal.com

User

dreamflower02 referenced to your post from Rec (http://dreamflower02.livejournal.com/655491.html) saying: [...] wrote a really thought-provoking poem: http://kerravonsen.livejournal.com/998210.html [...]