On January 11th, 2016, I started a daily practice of writing a joke meditation of the day called Cracked Pot Meditations. I was still recovering from the treatment of cancer, and I was having very challenging cognitive issues, so I chose just to put something simple and easy to write every day. Posting it to the blog allowed me to have some accountability. Some of those meditations were poorly written and unedited. I have gone back and begun editing these and adding an illustration, starting with the April 27th meditation. I hope you enjoy.
The original meditation for this day, which I kept below for archival purposes, just wasn’t that great. During the summer of 2016, the Zika virus was spreading throughout the US. Little did I know that four years later, we would be shutting the country down for COVID. So I wrote a new meditation about how we shouldn’t care about celebrities. Happy meditating!
Meditation for August 2nd
Stop worshipping celebrities
What is our fascination with celebrities? Why does it matter who they date and have dated, what they wear, where they eat, and who they vote for? Why does it make you feel better about yourself when your favorite celebrity has the same opinion as you?
Someone was defending their love of a famous female rock star whose name rhymes with Baylor Twift, and instead of defending their songwriting skills, lyrical prowess, or even their fantastic stage shows, they responded with some nice thing they did once.
Celebrity worship is very normal in our society. Still, it can have its downfall, for it is a one-sided relationship of putting a human on a pedestal that they may not deserve. Some sociologists even suggest that the fascination with celebrities stems from their lack of a personal identity and meaningful relationships. They will compensate by making the celebrity their entire identity.
Celebrities are businesses, and like corporate businesses, their whole persona is their product. Pop music doesn’t rely on talent or musical proficiency anymore; it is based more on the product as a person. Many top-tier musicians have staff that cultivate everything from their public image to their personal relationships, including who they date. The relationship between two celebrities is similar to the recent business partnership between Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. There is no romantic love there, just fodder for the billion-dollar celebrity gossip industry and to drive up the astronomical ticket prices for their shows.
Just as businesses align with what they consider “good”, celebrities who “speak out” are essentially ensuring their brand sells. While it makes the fans love them more, the hate will also drive news and gossip so that their names and likenesses stay relevant.
So don’t look for celebrities to save us from anything; they are just trying to get you to buy tickets to their shows. Taylor Swift is Target, and Morgan Wallen is Walmart.
Prayer
Dear Pheme,
It is by no mistake that your mother is Ossa,
A god of Hope – you distract us from her.
It is not surprising that the other side of the coin of fame,
Is scandal,
The very curse that destroys your gift of fame.
And it makes sense, as you are the goddess of fame and scandal,
You are also the god of gossip.
You blast your gossip to the heavens with a trumpet,
So that we look at that instead of what the gods are really doing,
If we don’t look at the great things,
We will fall for the scandals.
Your job isn’t to give us Hope like your mother,
But to provide us with false hope.
Amen
Craft
You are a person. You aren’t anyone else. You are not a character in a novel. You aren’t going to be best friends with Chappell Roan if you run into her. You have a deep-seated need that isn’t being met: human connection.
A real human connection is that feeling of being cared for and supported by your friends and family. You are also living in a reality knowing that some famous rock star doesn’t even know you exist, and if they did come across your existence, they wouldn’t care about it at all. Take that devotion and put it into the people and community around you, and you will get something out of it: Love.
Goal
Stop using celebrities, present and past, to express your feelings to the world. All celebrities are just corporations.
Meditations for August 15th, 2016
How Do You Know You Have The Zika Virus and How Not To Catch It
The Zika virus is heading north, and we need to be ready to handle this disease before it kills most of America.
Here are the symptoms of the Zika virus.
You feel hot, possibly even having a fever.
You feel itchy, possibly with a bit of redness around the affected areas.
You’ll feel sore. Is it from yard work?
Your eyes will be red and or itchy.
How can you avoid catching the Zika virus? Follow these tips, and you should be Zika-free this summer.
Avoid approaching bodies of water.
Stay inside during the afternoon and night.
Use Mm or better Visqueen tape on all possible cracks, windows, and doors to keep bugs out. Also helps with chemical attacks.
Wear full-body clothing, including gloves and a face mask, even while sleeping.
Avoid hanging out with anyone who is Irish, Scottish, English, or Welsh. They are mosquito magnets.
Buy a lot of hairless cats and leave them at parks, nowhere near your house, to attract mosquitoes.
Hope this health tip helps.