The Dark Side of Utopia

Scenes of any kind create an atmosphere, they attract individuals from everywhere and provide an environment for us to interact, share and explore. They can be a place where we discover ourselves, become introduced to a new way of living, get lost in a new waves of thoughts and discussions as well as being a place to get lost: an escape. 

Scenes become a culture, a subculture, and allow us to find the place "our place" that we feel comfortable. Be it the music scene, the art scene, the academic scene, the drug scene.... whatever anyone is involved in can be created into some sort of scene. 

These words are labels that we have created to distinguish us vs them, a place where rules may make a bit more sense to us, or signifies an ideology that we assume is everyone else's belief. 

The problem arises when we believe that everyone involved in a particular scene is a particular way. There will be similarities, but we are a diverse group of individuals and individually we are going to have our own take on life, as well the shadow that follows. 

We tend to hide from ourselves what we don't want others to know. There becomes this acceptance of denial, a belief that if we don't recognize what is happening - that it is not happening... or if we don't want to believe what is happening, we wont. Belief is a funny thing - it does not need to be rational. 

When the truth begins to get momentum, recognizing and accepting reality can become a very painful experience, especially when we become so attached to the reality we have created for ourselves. We live on a planet with billions upon billions of experiences and there is no way that our individual view is the "right" view. 

Becoming flexible and accepting to the varieties of experiences is necessary in developing resilience to life itself. When we begin to identify so closely with a scene, a group or a view, we have created a pedestal stating "this, here, is above the norm"... and when that shit falls - we tumble............................. and sometimes we continue to roll into dismay. 

It is important to remember - it is not the scene it is the person. If a person is doing horrible things, that person is the one doing it. The scene lives as a venue, a space and a place to collect people. People are diverse, independent, curious, lost, dazed and confused - but trying to find something. A place to fit in, a place to explore, a place to enjoy. Whatever, we are looking for we will be searching for it in some way. 

I guess, something I have had to accept is: just because one person is doing something for one particular reason does not mean that is the reason everyone is doing that same thing. Not everyone works out for the health benefits, not everyone does drugs to escape, not everyone drinks because they are miserable, not everyone laughs because they think what they heard is funny, not everyone helps because they want too, not everyone is eating because they are hungry.... there are an unlimited amount of reasons why we do whatever we do. 

A difference is made when we ask questions, rather than assume, and when we see it for what it is rather than what we want it to be. Not an easy task. If you find something that allows you to find yourself, give it the respect it deserves, but recognize that you found that place for a reason and not everyone is involved for the same purpose. Protect those you love, help a stranger, be honest and when we see fucked up shit - take a real look at it and say something.