TIME JOCKEY

Up at eight

We can’t be late

For Mathew & Son

‘cos they won’t wait

Cat Stevens

Is this the sort of refrain that runs through your head at least 5 days a week?

In our consumer dominated society time is an entity which dominates most peoples lives.

Time is money.

Fair enough. This is certainly true from a purely business perspective. How does this translate to the average working person though.

Security is a basic survival instinct; so a definite proportion of available time has to be devoted to this issue.

Our rampant consumer society has warped peoples attitudes to what is actually necessary for this security. Only by having all the latest on offer do we now consider ourselves to be secure. As all these latest gizmos cost money; it is therefore necessary to spend more time earning this. Enough is never enough any more.

So the amount of time allocated to obtaining security has to increase; reducing the amount of time available for other activities, or to actually enjoy the things we can now afford.

Not many people are fortunate enough to work in occupations which fulfill both their intellectual and emotional needs. The latter usually gets more and more neglected in a persons life.

We have also turned in to a society which expects instant and constant sensory gratification or stimulation. Being a social animal; nobody likes to feel left out of the loop. Consequently we don’t want to miss out on being part of the latest fad that everyone is talking about.

Fitting all these activities in to our now reduced amount of available time starts requiring constant organisation.

Doing things in a particular time frame is necessary for functional every day living. The more we try and put in our lives though, the less time we are able to allocate to any particular activity.

Variety is a necessary way of keeping an active and interested mind. Trying to impose too many inputs though simply turns much of it in to a blur. What is the point of so many activities that most get forgotten  almost as soon as they are over.

EVERY BODY IS SO BUSY DOING;THEY LOSE THE ABILITY TO ACTUALLY BE.

When life starts to get run on such a tight schedule, any sort of delay or hiccup brings about a considerable amount of stress.

This sort of lifestyle usually impacts most strongly on children. Parents are often too tired or stressed to give them the attention they need. Not getting this attention can lead to all sorts of emotional problems; which continue in to adulthood. Children who have not been able to find a supportive, or firm, foundation within their own family are more prone to destructive, or anti-social behavior. The consequences to overall society gets larger as the numbers of people caught in this cycle increases.

Having an active and fulfilling life should be the aim and right of every person.  Many now consider so many things to be necessities though, that they are constantly chasing the clock attempting to get everything done.

Being constantly entertained or occupied means there is actually no time spent on trying to discover who you might actually be, or are possibly capable of.

Your life becomes what you are, not who you are.

Having every possession or experience available means very little; if your life has become an empty shell, or your emotional foundations have fallen to pieces behind you.

Many people are now very uncomfortable if they suddenly find themselves alone, with no external stimulus. Being alone in your own company has become something to be afraid of. Relying totally on an  external source for a meaning to life means you are very poorly equipped to cope with any sort of major upset or stress.

Are you able to just sit down for longer than a few minutes without a radio or television on, and just feel the rhythms of your own body?

Can you stop the constant chatter in your head from driving you on to the next activity?

Prints of this work are available at

http://www.phantompharoah.com

FEMALE EMANCIPATION

 There has been a great improvement in some areas towards a more equal treatment of women.

In many societies though the subjugation and exploitation of women is still very much ingrained. Even where advances have been made you don’t have to look too far to find that ingrained attitudes still lurk beneath the surface.

Despite our so called advanced intelligence as human beings; a large proportion of our innate behaviour patterns are still firmly locked in the animal kingdom. Here the sexual roles and hierarchies are clearly defined. Survival and perpetuation of the species is pretty much all there is to life.

Herd animals always have a pecking order. Each gender having its own. The power plays within these can be pretty brutal; but they do not impact on the opposite sex. Stripped to its most basic level this sums up human life as well. The difference is that our increased intelligence enables us to identify and exploit situations for personal advantage.

 The biological fact that males are physically stronger than females has enabled them to use this as a means for domination and control of female behaviour. Masculine insecurity usually lies at the bottom of these sort of actions. If they are unable to compete successfully in the male pecking order; interfering with female behaviour allows them to regain a sense of power in their own minds.

The unpleasant reality is that people of both genders will pick on others they perceive as being weaker when they are either frustrated in their ambitions, or feel threatened in any particular way.This is purely an attempt to boost their own self image or ego. People will also rarely own or accept their faults or weaknesses’s as something they have to change themselves. Finding a scapegoat to take the blame is the common course of action.

 The treatment and exploitation of women is just one form of a very wide spread mind set that needs to change. Difference of beliefs,lifestyle,or race, are seen as a threat by many people. This is what is at the bottom of every single conflict. Instead of being able to celebrate diversity, and learn from it, the reaction is generally to try and suppress, or wipe it out. Everyone is so attached to their own world view they are unprepared to simply allow differences to co-exist.

The fact that women are the glue that holds the fabric of society together is seldom recognised or acknowledged. They are also societies teachers; providing crucial early learning for both sexes. Societies where educating women is not considered of any importance are condemning themselves to stagnation. Without the strengths of both genders being equally celebrated, and valued, a balanced society can never be achieved. Sexual role stereotyping is not a solution. Learning and accepting who you actually are is.

 It is only by gaining this sort of self awareness that all forms of bigotry, and discrimination, can be overcome. A person who is truly self aware places no importance on what another persons gender,race, or belief system might be. They are able to accept difference for what it is and simply let it be. Every human on this planet has the same hopes,dreams,and needs. No one is more valuable than any one else. We all have our role to play no matter what level we are capable of operating on. Any form of discrimination is an indictment against the person doing the discriminating.

Devaluing a persons role robs them of the possibility of achieving their true potential. It takes away their sense of self worth,and dignity.

 Strength should be used to support; not suppress.

 These paintings were done in 1981 as a comment on a woman’s right to be themselves and not be forced to live or act in a particular way simply because some male couldn’t handle it.

 Have you experienced discrimination within your culture or society, and how do you feel about, or deal with, it?

If you have experiences or issues along these lines that you would like to share, or discuss, with others please feel free to submit any articles.

You can send articles to

phantompharoah(at)gmail(dot)com

These could be about discrimination in any form; not just gender based and can be published anonymously or with an avatar if you wish.

 TEENAGE FUTURE

 Adolescence is a very important time in a persons development. It is also the age group which is most susceptible to external or peer pressure. Rebellion and the pushing of boundaries is a necessary part of finding your own direction.

If early life experiences have not enabled you to develop a grounded sense of where you belong, either within a family setting, or society as a whole; then very damaging long term consequences can arise.

Low self esteem, and an inferiority complex,stem from this lack of foundation.

To compensate for this, anti-social, or self destructive behavior patterns,often develop.

This can totally stifle a persons potential. The talents available in each and every one of us are enormous but very few people are fortunate enough to recognise a definite life path.

Taking the wrong steps at this crucial stage of development can either prevent a true path from ever being found,or leave you with a life long task of recovering from the damage.

Don’t let doing what everyone else wants become the only way you can live.

The desire to belong is a natural part of the human herd instinct. Finding the courage to be true to yourself within this framework, will bring you far greater rewards than any peer acceptance.

It is an unfortunate fact that it is often the very talented who end up as casualties in this process. To see or experience things in a different way to others is what makes these people unique. Unfortunately this very difference can make them feel isolated or insecure and they will try to mask or block out their difference.

Only by reaching a point of understanding that your existence is important, and learning to celebrate your difference, will the path to which you are most suited unfold.

What you end up working at is far less important than who you end up being.

Make the effort to find your inner voice; and be sure to give it time to sing.

Living in harmony with others is vital to finding your right path. Allowing feelings of frustration to grow in to anger, or self hatred, will only feed any insecurities you may have.

We live in a world where the pressures to survive, let alone succeed, are getting more and more intense. Knowing your own self worth is essential to being able to avoid being overwhelmed.

The general breakdown of social cohesion means more and more young people are having to face their future without a sufficiently nurturing background. Their choices and the possible pitfalls they face are even worse than for my generation.

We went in to adulthood with the threat of nuclear annihilation on the table. This generation faces the threat of Global meltdown.

Without a major shift in attitude there is no possibility of preventing an eventual social breakdown.

The greed and selfishness that is behind the current sorry state of the planet has to begin being replaced by a more equal system of wealth distribution.

Otherwise there will be nothing worth while left for future generations of teenagers.

 Where would you rather live

 In a fortified bunker with gold bath taps and 24 hr surveillance?

 In a community of unlocked doors and group support?


My Experience

  I painted this in 1983. It reflects the apprehension I felt as a teenager about facing the world at large.

Having failed to find any sort of direction within the education system, and a sense of being a failure to my parents, meant I was pretty much adrift.

Numbing myself with drug abuse to avoid the insecurities was unfortunately the path I took. This is most definitely not to be recommended.

Drugs filled an emotional void for me; providing a false sense of happiness.

 It is nearly 30 years since I stopped using drugs;and their effects still linger on. My Meditation practice has enabled me to eradicate vast amounts of the damage done. It has also shown me very clearly, that drugs only delay the time when you have to face your own inner demons.

Excessive drug or alcohol use at this time of your development simply stops a crucial period of growth. It may start up later, but then again if the damage is too great it won’t.

Changing the past is impossible. Regrets, remorse or blaming are useless emotions which will only delay any recovery.

Attempting to ensure your actions to both yourself, and all others, are benevolent will lead towards a future you can enjoy.

Choosing oblivion is a very easy course to take. Choosing not to allows you to shine.

 Would you have the courage to refuse to get stoned or drunk?

 If you do get stoned or drunk, would you have the courage to back up, and support, a friend who was getting ridiculed for choosing not to?

Are you facing the future happily and confidently?

 PIECE OF MIND

 The act of living is a very complex process. We are buffeted and affected by events and pressures on so many different levels.

While some of these are obvious, and can be worked through or altered, there are a lot of others that are either on a subconscious level, or due to external events totally beyond our means of avoiding.

The subconscious pressures can be the most devastating. Our lack of ability to recognise these, or deal with them correctly,leads us in to actions which increases the way they impact on our lives.

This is then likely to create a cycle of events where the myth starts to become the reality. When this begins to happen many of the pieces that make up our life jigsaw either never get the chance to be put in place , or are removed and lost.

The longer this process goes on the more difficult it can be to break the cycle, and things start to get a bit on the overwhelming side.

Struggling to find, or maintain, your direction in life when  all the pieces you need to complete the picture just don’t seem to be there, isn’t easy. Insecurities start to multiply. Lack of self confidence,low self esteem and depression are common results.

Many people face this dilemma; due to a variety of circumstances. For some it starts from a very early age; while for others it is brought on by a sudden trauma.

Childhood trauma,lack of education,illness or accident,social upheaval are just a few of the myriad of possible triggers.

No matter what the cause, dealing with the results, and attempting to overcome them, requires the same mental struggle.

The most difficult hurdle to face is the admission that there is something that needs to be addressed or resolved. If you are living with a sense of inferiority then admitting this even to yourself is daunting.

It is important to do this though as this is the start of the healing process. Acknowledgment allows a more objective mindset to grow.

This helps us accept and let go of events over which we usually had no control. The act of letting go is what starts raising our self esteem. Without doing this the tendency to feel a victim or the cause of your own problems can never be truly overcome.

Life circumstances might be far from ideal; but it is still possible to feel worthwhile and secure within yourself. The more you are able to let go of the stronger your sense of self becomes. This is the only criteria by which you should measure your progress.

Our natural desire for acceptance means we have often conditioned ourselves to place other peoples opinion or judgment of us above our own.

The only person who truly knows where you are at is you. Trust this person above all others.

The ability to smile and keep a light heart even when times are tough is the most valuable thing you can achieve in life.

Expecting an easy ride through life is a total pipe dream. Learning to develop your inner core of peace and happiness will enable you to ride out the storms without getting overwhelmed.

 My Tale
Painted in 1985 when I was coming out of what were probably some of my worst years. The psychological withdrawal from my drug years was a lot more difficult and prolonged than the physical withdrawals. My life to this period had most certainly removed some pretty important pieces from the jigsaw.

 Obviously I hadn’t totally screwed my spiritual perspective though. I understood on an intellectual level the value of being able to stay happy in the midst of disaster. I did put the beginnings of a smile on the dude after all!!

It would take me another 20 years of pretty intensive effort though before I could say that my experience began to match my intellect. If I had not fallen in to the drug trap I would still have had to overcome all the insecurities I had developed early in life.They would not have been so completely buried though, and the process would have no doubt been a lot quicker.

Always one of my favourite work and one of the few paintings whose location I am still aware of. It managed to survive my periods of artwork destruction .

I thought I had handled the concept pretty well, though my painting skills had not enabled me to do some of the things I had would have liked.

This is the painting I used to make the video on my home page. Colour. Sepia, Black and White prints in a range of sizes are available at http://phantompharoah.deviantart.com/

Continuing with my artwork and then starting my Meditation journey was how I have managed to begin rebuilding the jigsaw.

Do you have a method or process that has helped you to rebuild from any sort of emotional trauma?

Different things work for different people. If you would like to share what helped you please do. It could help change another persons life.

If so email me at phantompharoah(at)gmail(dot)com