The Garden of Your Mind...

     Time for something a little bit different, something serious. E3 took up a lot of time and was back to back for several days straight, so it kind of burnt me out. I figured I'd take a break for a few days... then I found this. As weird as this sounds, it's been on my mind a lot lately (and not just because I've been listening to it on repeat, non-stop). I would hope that everyone seen this already, but if you haven't take a look:

     First off, on a less serious note, I would hope that this video will educate the younger masses as to what a cassette player is. I feel so old when people tell me stories of handing kids a VHS tape or a floppy disk and they say, "What's this?" Ah, those were much simpler times...
     Now for the serious. I will warn you that this is probably going to be boring ruminations, but I felt the need to write this out and I wanted to post something to the blog. So, without further ado...

     "Do you ever imagine things?" Right off the bat and we're stopping. Do you ever imagine things? I find that, in today's world, the imagination is something that is quickly disposed of when a person reaches adulthood. For almost all of our young lives we are stuck in school being forced fed information that we'll probably never actually need. Let's be honest, the American school system is awful. Not the teachers mind you, although some of them are equally as bad. I, in general, liked my teachers throughout my school career. The problem is that they were restricted by a curriculum. In some cases this was a blessing; who knows what kind of crazy, whacked-out stuff some of those teachers could have come up with on their own. However, most of the time the curriculum was stifling. You are being told what to believe, what you're supposed to know. They force you to learn things that you'll never need outside of the classroom. Slowly, they are closing your mind...

     Back on topic: Imagination. I have been fortunate to hold on to mine, but not without cost. While others were slaving over textbooks, I was busy playing video games (yes, this is where video games come into play) and playing with toys. I'm a child in a man's body. Video games, movies, books, and toys all helped me keep my mind open while the school system was trying to force their ideas in and close the door behind. Because of this I feel like I'm the most childish out of all my friends, the one who has the farthest to go in order to grow up. I may be childish but at least I still have my imagination, and that's got to count for something, right? Do you ever imagine things?

     "Are they scary things?" Fear is a good driving force. It allows you to get things done, and shows you what you can truly do. I like to think (and channeling some Skyrim here), "Have I faced any dragons today, or have I turned tail and run from them?" Most of the time, sadly, I have to say that I ran away. It's scary to leave a comfort zone that you've become accustomed to. Imagining scary things will motivate you to change, or it will demoralize you even more. Don't be like the latter, face your "dragons" with courage.

Have you faced your dragons today?

     "Did you ever grow anything in the garden of your mind?" Again we come back to imagination. Your mind really is like a garden. The ideas that you "water" are the ones that flourish, and those that you abandon will wither.

     "It's good to be curious about many things." Don't just take things for granted. People who've lost their curiosity are boring. Curiosity takes you places and helps you learn. I know I'm not the only one that surfs the web aimlessly. Occasionally, I'll pick up something new. It's the same with the real world. Be curious, expand your knowledge. Through knowledge we gain wisdom, which is a very handy thing to have.

     "All you have to do is think, and they'll grow." Thinking is another thing that people today have taken for granted. We are told what to think by the media and by those in authority above us. To believe the media without a second thought is dangerous. Don't believe everything you see on TV, read in the paper, or hear on the radio. While some of it may be truth, some of it might not be. The truth is sometimes twisted by those in power for selfish gains. Do research of your own, and the most important thing is to think for yourself.

     "Imagine every person that you see is someone different, from every other person in the world." You know, every time I take the time to really think about this, it blows my mind. I know what I like to do, but what do other people do with their time? I have a hard time comprehending anything outside of my little world. What do normal people do with their free time? Mind boggling...

     "Some can do some things, some can do others." Not everyone knows how to do everything. This is why everyone hates a "know-it-all". This also reminds me of a fortune cookie I got one one time: "An expert is someone who knows so much about so little." This takes me back to the point of being open minded. Don't focus solely on becoming an expert on something that you forget to learn about other things. Knowing so much about so little doesn't make you a well rounded person, which makes you a boring person. Don't be boring. Sorry if that's harsh, but it's true.

     "Did you ever think of the many things you've learned to do?" Equally as mind boggling sometimes. I've learned so much... but most of it isn't all that useful. It does build character though. I hear that all the time, "It'll build character." Your experiences add to your personality. The problem with most people is that their experiences are terrible, and so it makes a terrible person. The negativity I sense in the world today is awful. No one seems to be truly happy with their lives.

Picture sort of unrelated... But I like it a lot.

     Back on topic: Knowledge. As I said before knowledge increases wisdom. The more you experience and learn, the more you know. The more you know, the more wisdom you'll have. I know this may seem like common sense, but the people I'm around on a regular basis have made me come to believe that common sense is not all that common anymore.

     I don't know what the author intended for the message to be, but I firmly believe that this song is all about imagination. I have a bad memory: although I do remember watching Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, I don't remember much about it. I hope that I took his messages to heart, and that it helped me become the person I am today. Recently, I watched an interview with Mr. Fred Rogers. One of his quotes stuck out profoundly:

"The best thing you can do for anybody is offer one more honest adult in their lives."

      Notice that he said anybody. This is not just for children, it's for everyone. Everyone could use an honest adult in their life. I can't help but take this as a motto. He also says, "I think you really have to be yourself." This is so important nowadays. People put on a facade, they put a different face on for different people. Don't do that. If a person is going to like you they should like you for who you are, not who they want you to be.

     It's so disheartening to watch television today and see the filth that the media is trying to force feed children these days. It's sad for my part as well; instead of realizing just how important his messages were and watching his show, I was too interested in other cartoons. It's only recently that I've come to realize how foolish that was. It's sad that Mr. Rogers is gone, because we, as human beings, could really use him right now. If anyone is worthy of being a role model, it would have been him.

(Google Images provided the images. I claim none as my own.)