One of my all-time favorite authors Bret Easton Ellis once wrote this line. Less Than Zero was the novel. It later became a movie. He once dated Donna Tartt, another one of my all-time favorite authors. I wouldn´t bring that up except that the actresses that play his female characters in the movie adaptation of his novel, always resemble her a little. Curious fact. Moving on.
I loved watching Less Than Zero again. Hadn't seen it in a very long time. Its not a guilty pleasure, like say 84 Charing Cross Road, that I watch every Sunday. This is one of those once-a-decade kind of movie in which you're happy to see familiar faces: The Other Brat Pack: Andrew McCarthy, James Spader, Jami Gertz and the extraordinary performance of Robert Downey Jr., he really is a brilliant actor when he takes off the mask made of uh, Iron ... More on the Brat Pack II and Robert coming to your local blog very soon...
That phrase regarding old habits, which was pronounced by the James Spader character really touched a nerve. Habits, it seems as though were always rebelling against them, fighting for modification or better yet elimination. Some "experts" have persuaded all human kind to consider that a habit, any habit, can be transformed in 21 days. Are you telling me that after 30 years of biting my nails I will succumb to the belief that I can stop doing it in a measly 3 weeks?! Well, some of us choose to believe, some of us are way too rational for this. I am the latter.
Which is why I was happy to hear these words, somebody was finally able to verbalize my disbelief. You can´t get rid of habits, you can bury them, ignore them, insult them, write about them on your blog... but they will always be a part of you... No matter if you change continents, friends, partners, eating habits or decide to do that dreadful thing that I watch people doing in the mornings around the park, ah! jog....
True, we have developed these so called habits, we weren´t born with them, so logic would have you thinking that because it´s not part of our nature or gene pool, it´s just a matter of adjusting the calibre of your will power and off you go to change-land... I think we should settle for the good news that we are able to withhold the impulse of re-usage of habits, but making them disappear as if by magic... Makes you think why you're still tempted to have that extra bowl of pasta or why you want to rip the nail polish off your nails when they are looking so pretty....
Addictions are habits, right? Why would they suggest that a recovering addict will forever and always be an addict if you were able to really break the habit and cliche-ing-ly say that it will die eventually? Exactly, the habit will continue to subsist in the back burner of your mind, waiting attentively for the the trigger that will provoke the urge to see daylight. So we have to read loads of self help books, and monitor our 12 steps to who knows where in order to pacifically "push it real good" to the back of our minds... I knew Salt n´ Pepa would come in handy someday...
So, to summarize, we continue to be a psychological mess. Im sorry but I cant find something more appropriate to describe the present moment. This is me, in all of my splendor, with my good and bad habits. Take what you were given and make the most out of it. I think we spend way too much time trying to improve, change, resize, and upholster. If only we would invest some of that time trying to accept and just applaud our strange habits, life would be much more tolerable. Let those damn habits hibernate in a peaceful setting....
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