Your Great Unwritten Story

It seems that in the past few years old, worn out looking clothing has become a thing.
Ripped and/or bleached jeans.
Worn out looking boots and other shoes.
Ripped/worn looking tee shirts.
Even ripped and worn hats are becoming a thing.
More than that, worn out and old things have become a thing for homes. One of my Mom's friends owns an interior furnishing store. As a result, her house is furnished and decorated very well, and all the new trends are used. She has (Or had last time I was there, probably still has) so many decorations to make her house look old. Beat up looking clocks. Fake books on the tables and shelves that look really old with leather outsides and metal bindings. Old looking picture frames. You know. Going for the antique, authentic look. It looks nice. But why?
Why do people want to look and appear to be old, antique, worn and torn?
What has changed in our culture that makes us think it looks nice to look like like we live in poverty instead of the extreme wealth that our culture in America really lives in?
I know what the answer is. But it has nothing to do with how nice the clothing or furniture appears.
Of course, being who I am, I'm not going to give you the answer yet.
Sit for just a moment and think about it.
Why do you wear worn looking clothing? Why do you try to make your house look old?
Close your eyes and think. Really think.
What are you trying to accomplish with that look?

I know. Do you?

With the advent of instant communication and endless entertainment has come a loss of identity. A loss of culture. A loss of all things that make life great and people happy.
It makes me so sad to see how America has changed in the last 100 years. 100 years ago Americans knew what their culture was. They lived it every single day of their lives. It was a culture of hope and love. Service and giving. Fun and excitement. Integrity, ingenuity, and innovation. A culture of singing and dancing.
What have we now? A culture of mindless communication, mindless education, and mindless entertainment?
Pretty much.
People used to live! They used to go dancing. Not modern dancing. Real dancing. With a partner and music that was beautiful. They used to watch what was going on outside of the car/buggy instead of what was happening on their phone. They used to sing because radios were not easily portable or even common, and ipods didn't exist. They used to love for real, and have real relationships, because it was impossible to avoid the painful parts of relationships, which are the things that make relationships real. They didn't have the option to simply not text back or block them on their phone and avoid them in real life. It didn't work that way. If there was a problem, they had to look the other person square in the eye and work it out, or end the relationship. People used to read and educate themselves with purpose and vigor! Not mindless boredom. People couldn't numb the pain by turning on the new episode of their favorite show and losing themselves in the story. If they had TV, there were about 3 channels. And there was only one TV. For a very long time it was unheard of to have two. People used to deal with pain, learn to love, work hard, experience real disappointment, experience real joy.
People used to live.
Not the fake stuff that we pretend to have now. People used to have real lives.
And that's what we're searching for! That is the great hope of mankind! To live a real, authentic life!
Most of us just don't know that. We don't realize that we can live a great life, or we give a piece of ourselves away and choose not to. So we lose ourselves in whatever we can find, just trying to feel something, or not feel something. Trying to just make it by instead of really living.
For goodness sake, go live! What are you waiting for? If you're waiting for your great opportunity, it's not going to come on it's own. You have to go get it. Life will give you what you want. The question is, how bad do you want it? Do you want it bad enough to go do something about it?
Anyway. I'm getting distracted on a conclusion that is not the one that I am meaning to get to. Please, forgive me.
Going back to my earlier question.
Why do people want to look and appear to be old, antique, worn and torn?
People want what their grandfathers and great grandfathers used to have. They want to live. They want to feel authentic. They want to have a story.
They just aren't brave enough to go write that story. It's too uncertain. Writing a story is painful. It's hard to compose a masterpiece. So people choose to stay as they are. Not anything great or special. Just there. Filling some sort of void while not realizing that their wasted potential is creating a void within themselves. So they feel empty. And try to fill it with empty learning. Empty communication. Empty entertainment. And they know deep down that these things aren't making them happier. Making their lives better. But they live like that anyway. Just doing enough to not really feel bad, but not feel good either. All of this being said, they don't want it to appear on the outside like they're not really living. That would make them seem boring. And if they seemed boring, that would make people notice them less. Which means that they would have to start spending more time noticing things inside of themselves. Which would be painful, because that's exactly what they're trying to avoid.
So they wear ripped jeans. They wear worn boots and hats. They decorate their houses to look old. Because old things have a story. And they so desperately want to have a story. So, so very desperately. Enough so that they will spend a hundred dollars on a pair of ripped jeans to seem like they did something noteworthy and ripped their jeans as a result. If they wanted to really live, they would have bought a whole pair of jeans for forty dollars, and spent the remaining sixty on dancing lessons. Or given it to charity. Or gas to go camping. Saved it for something grand. Invested it in a business. Something to make the world better. But they didn't. They bought a pair of ripped jeans instead.
My dear friends. Go do something great today, okay? Write a story for the book of your life.
Do not wake up one day and realize that it is too late to live your dreams. You will regret it forever. Live now so you can smile when you leave life.
The great Lao-tzu said, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
Take that step today. Even if it's not a very big one. Take it.
If you're already walking, start running. Your story is not written yet. There are still many pages to fill. It's up to you to fill them. Do it.
You will be happier. I promise.
May you be with God in all your travels.
All my love,
Dallin