The topic proposed for this initiative is quite broad and has many edges that we can talk about, beyond the aesthetic theme and its useless uses that have been instilled in us. As
@charjaim puts it, we live in a constant accumulation of superfluous and unnecessary items, goods, fashions, obsessions, anti-values, appearances and vices.
The system has made us believe how “urgent” it is to acquire all those items that, in the end, only take us away from the things that really matter in life. Social networks have notoriously influenced this pattern to dominate the masses even more, given the immediacy with which information is disseminated and the easy reach it has.
This is why I am going to share with you my point of view, from different angles, regarding this Empire of the Useless that we have built brick by brick for decades, at the cost of our personal worth and mental health.
In today's turbulent society, we have erected a vast empire where appearance eclipses essence, where unbridled consumerism enslaves us and where the material is elevated to the category of divinity. This “kingdom”, apparently powerful and solid, rests on such fragile pillars as vanity, superficiality and obsession for the ephemeral.
The yearning for aesthetic perfection, cultivated by the media and the beauty industry, has given rise to an incessant search for eternal youth. We exist in a society where self-esteem is measured in likes and followers. However, this artificial beauty, created through filters and photo retouching, is as fleeting as youth itself.
The vices into which many fall into often destroy the addict's life and that of his or her family members. Seeking solace and escape in alcohol, drugs, pharmaceuticals or any type of psychoactive, is also falling into the vain, in the loss of control and self-destruction because the vices, sooner or later, end up disabling the addict. Therefore, addictions are part of the enslavement and dehumanization that is lived in this “kingdom”.
Consumerism, another pillar of this empire of the useless, promises us happiness through the acquisition of material goods. We are sold the idea that we are what we have and that the more we possess, the more we are worth. Advertising, strategically designed to manipulate our desires, constantly bombards us with new products that promise to “transform our lives”. A completely illusory promise of happiness.
The wheel of consumerism is endless and no matter how much we get, there will always be “something missing” because that is the end, to make us believe that we need more and more to be “complete”. Life is the other way around, the more we concentrate on having just what we really need, the happier we will be.
The fixation on material things has displaced deeper and more lasting values, such as love, friendship, solidarity, empathy. In this realm, success is measured in economic terms and money has become the only God we worship. Material wealth does not guarantee fulfillment and personal fulfillment. On the contrary, the continuous search for success can lead to a life that is empty and devoid of meaning.
The footprint of this consumerism and of creating a need where there is none, can be evidenced in the two examples mentioned by
@charjaim in the post. Why use an accessory that, far from providing well-being, turns out to be extremely uncomfortable, why should we get used to using it, for fashion, for beauty canons, for imitating someone in particular? 🤔
My personal anecdote coincides a bit with one of the examples. I didn't know about false eyelashes until I saw how a close friend put them on. I was raised by women who kept it simple, no excessive makeup, no false eyelashes, no hair extensions. Staying at that friend's house, she was impressed that I had never used that accessory, although I had seen it around in pharmacies or stores, since they never used it in my close circle, what would I know about it? 😂
Not to mention the famous extensions that now exist for eyelashes. But be careful, I don't want people who read this post to think that I'm judging those who do use this kind of things, everyone is free to wear what they want and what they feel comfortable with. I emphasize the excesses, when eyelashes are placed not according to the shape of the eyes or too heavy for the eyelids. Anything that can cause discomfort and be unflattering seems useless to me.
Although the system, in which we have to participate in one way or another, has imposed for decades and continues to impose stereotypes, the way we should live, rampant consumerism, etc., for me what will be decisive is the environment in which we live.
If you grow up in a family circle that insists on the banal with a mother who is used to having cosmetic surgeries and all kinds of procedures, chances are that her daughters will emulate it in the future, since that is what they are being “taught” indirectly. That is why I will always say that we are the reflection of what we are observing from an early age.
And this is not only at home, the same can happen at school. If in a group of friends there are two who since they were young have resorted to some kind of change in their anatomy, for example, and it is the most common, having a breast augmentation, it is most likely that one of the others will want to “imitate” that decision.
A classmate of mine, with whom I studied many years ago, went on and on in college about her frustration at not having the money to get a rhinoplasty and fake breasts. As I delved into that deep-seated goal of hers, I realized why she wanted it: in her group of childhood friends, there were two who had that procedure done during high school. One of them was in the modeling business and the other, although she sometimes alternated with the same, was into acting.
My classmate often mentioned them..... “how lucky they are to have money!”, ‘so-and-so had it done in 5th year, it was a total turnaround, she looked amazing, I want to’.
I never told her what I really thought about this dreamy desire for “”her“”, but it was obvious where the idea came from. Are her two friends to blame? Of course not, this person's problem was not having a well-founded self-esteem from home and that compulsion to repeat what the others were doing so as not to “fall behind in the competition”. She felt less attractive to the other two girls who, in theory, “had moved up a step in the world of beauty and in the eyes of men by looking more beautiful”.
What needs to be reinforced is self-confidence because there is no surgery that can fix what is wrong inside. Many people resort to useless and unnecessary things to fill gaps. It is worrying to see how younger and younger people succumb to the need to look perfect, without thinking about the consequences that this may bring later, (such as looking older before their time). Definitely, we must rethink the concept of what beauty is.
How would you define beauty?
This was all for today, I would like to know what you think about it. Big hugs to the whole community 🤗.
[**Initiative Link** ✅](https://peakd.com/hive-131951/@charjaim/esa-vida-nuestra-iniciativa-29)
